Organização das Mulheres de Cabo Verde (OMCV) – Anchor Point Internships (Praia, Cape Verde)

The Organização das Mulheres de Cabo Verde (OMCV) was founded in 1981 and is the principal women’s organization in the country. It has offices in 19 of 22  districts of Cape Verde. The OMCV aims to promote the rights of women and their fuller participation in the democratic process of Cape Verde, to gain economic sustainability, and to educate themselves in health matters.

OMCV’s impact is felt at several levels as it provides many services in addition to information about and training in women’s rights, including: literary programs and activities which reinforce literacy; offers skills training (e.g. sewing, typing, basic computer skills, commercial baking); promotes family planning (targeted particularly at 15 to 19-year-olds); undertakes health education, including education about HIV/AIDS; gives loans to women for income-generating activities; runs work day care centers for 4 to 6 years olds; and provides information about environmental issues. OMCV has planned exchange visits to Brazil and Portugal to study methods of transforming and training women about their rights.

From 2000 to 2011, OMCV has provided more than 8,881 loans totaling 614,280 CVE , achieving a loan repayment rate of 99 percent. During the 12 months ending in October of 2001, OMCV collected $23,332 in interest and fees, against operating expenses of $22,555 — demonstrating steady progress toward operational sustainability. Its microcredit activities have also provided a credible platform to address its community development goals, such as literacy training, health promotion, and AIDS prevention counseling. The National Microcredit Steering Committee endorsed OMCV’s approach and the NGO has been actively engaged in legislative discussions about the role of civil society organizations in micro-credit
services.

Internship Description for 2012
Cape Verde is an archipelago composed of ten islands. It is only slightly larger than Rhode Island, and located 385 mi (500 km) west of Senegal. The intern will work with the staff in the Praia office. Praia is a city of approximately 100,000 inhabitants.
The OMCV runs several HIV/AIDS programs, including prevention and education, psychological support for families, work with community leaders. One intern will work in the HIV/AIDS prevention and education area.
The second intern will work on the microfinance area of OMCV. In 1999, with support from the African Development Foundation, OMCV created a new microfinance department, and with ACDI/VOCA assistance OMCV began to unlearn bad lending practices and adopt new procedures that will lead to sustainability. Previously, OMCV had disbursed loans to urban and rural women microentrepreneurs at very low rates of interest and with an unsustainable level of loan recovery.

Accommodations will be arranged by CWS for all Wellesley Internships in Africa. $1000 will be deducted from the stipend to subsidize housing costs.

Desired Qualifications

All majors encouraged to apply. Interests should ideally include one or more of the following: women’s health, education, development, microfinance, sustainability, social issues, peace and justice, human rights.

An ideal candidate should be flexible, motivated, open minded, detail oriented, organized and patient. She should be a self starter and should welcome new challenges, such as living and working simply.

Knowledge of Portuguese, Spanish or French required with a preference for Portuguese or Spanish.