My name is Kaylin Berinhout, I am from Atlanta, Georgia and I am going into my junior year at Georgia Tech. I spent two months interning at World WIZO in Tel Aviv in the Marketing & PR Division (my first ever internship), and in this short time I was fortunate enough to visit five youth villages, two daycare centers, a woman’s shelter, and several other WIZO projects. On these visits, I interviewed women and youth, listened to their stories, and then returned to the office to write up news articles based on the interviews for the WIZO website.
I am indebted to the countless WIZO staff members and volunteers who helped me form a deeper understanding of WIZO that goes beyond the statistics. Now as I complete my internship, I think back to Galit, the housemother of the WIZO women’s shelter in Ashdod, who responds day and night to crisis of the women in her care. She dedicates her life to these women and their children, and yet still confided in me that the hardest thing about her job is that she can’t do more for them.
I also think of Orian, the WIZO Yavne daycare social worker who uses Pilates to teach disadvantaged parents how to better interact with their children with whom they so desperately want to connect.
I recall my conversation with Nativ, the boarding school director of the WIZO Gan Vanof youth village who told me at "Aman Ba'gan", their end of year rock concert, “Any student can perform on stage. We’re all family here; there’s no reason to be shy.”
I second Nativ’s advice for anyone coming to volunteer at World WIZO. Open your mind. Do some research. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to go up and talk to people and ask questions. Beyond the marketing and PR experience I have gained here, some of my most important lessons have come from conversations with WIZO staff and volunteers (both in the office and outside of it).
I will be forever grateful to WIZO for providing me with such an incredible internship experience and showing me firsthand that the only thing better than having a career you’re passionate about, is sharing that passion across generations as part of a vibrant international community
Kaylin, with fellow World WIZO intern Jackie Weiss, at WIZO Gan Vanof
