The company

Oxfam
"Oxfam is a global NGO that fights against poverty, (both against its consequences and against its causes), by mobilizing citizen power. The Oxfam Shops are stores in which Oxfam collects donations from people, and then resells them. The purpose of these stores is to generate profit for the NGO, which cannot rely only on public subsidies."

My internship search

"I chose to do my internship in England in order to improve my English, which left a lot to be desired at the time of my departure. So I naturally chose to go in England. My English being bad, I also knew that many doors would be closed and that it would be more difficult to find an internship. I already had the opportunity to do several internships in the past, and I wanted to do something «more». So I turned to Oxfam, which always needs volunteers. This choice enabled me both to improve my English in a pleasant way, and at the same time to make myself useful by conducting humanitarian actions. So I sent 10 or 20 e-mails to several Oxfam Shop, and finally the one in Caterbury e-mailed me back."

My tasks

"On the one hand, I was a volunteer: I was in charge of the cash register, receipt of donations, sorting, labelling, ironing, and in-store replenishment. On the other hand, I was a manager: I had to manage the volunteers in their work, set the prices, manage the endof-day baking, go to the bank, and more generally I had to find a solution to the everyday problems the shop could meet during the absence of the main managers. It is this dual role that allowed me to have a general and objective view of the store’s operation."

Extra professional activities

"I visited Canterbury, which is a city full of little places to discover. It is the religious capital of England, and many tourists come to spend a few days before going to London. It is therefore a touristic and preserved city at the same time. I had the chance to meet someone with a car, with whom I traveled a lot. I traveled several hundred kilometers, going from Oxford to Dover, passing by London and by Whitstable.
I went regularly to the Pub with other Oxfam volunteers, which allowed me to practice familiar English. I also read a lot of books in English, books that I found in Oxfam shops."