My internship at Integration Center Monika opened new doors for me in both my professional development and language skills. During these three months, I learned what it takes to work with immigrant women and became certain that this is the career path I want to pursue.
My name is Chinonyelum Ani. I am a final-year Social Services student at Diaconia University of Applied Sciences, and I will graduate in December 2024. I worked three months as an intern at Integration Center Monika, supporting women’s integration.
Working with migrant women is my passion. The main goal of this internship was to gain valuable experience in this field. To achieve that goal, I aimed to join MONIKA – Multicultural Women’s Association, Finland, based here in Helsinki. The Integration Center Monika, a unit of MONIKA, promotes women’s rights and integration by providing assistance and support in various languages.
Overcoming challenges and building confidence
As someone who speaks and understands basic Finnish, I was a bit sceptical about going to Integration Center Monika for my internship. After much contemplation, I decided to give it a shot. When I started my third practical placement at Integration Center Monika, I had a lot of unanswered questions about the integration of migrant women in Finland.
Initially, working in Integration Center Monika was very demanding, but it was an opportunity to find answers about my professional life and to find out if working with migrant women is what I really want. After three months as an intern in the organisation, I’m more excited than ever to pursue my career in working with migrant women.
My primary objective when I started my internship in the organisation was to work directly with the service users and to learn documentation of service users’ information because I did not have that opportunity during my second practical placement. However, during my third practical placement in Integration Center Monika, I was allowed to observe many meetings with the women who came to the Integration Center Monika for social counselling. Later, I started to conduct meetings with the women and learnt how to save service users’ information on the organisation’s database.
Supportive team and professional growth
My supervisor really understands what it takes to work with migrant women, and she provides an enabling environment for workers to discover their capabilities and improve their professional skills. I was encouraged to participate in client work with different workers to observe the approach being used. Participating in client work improved my professional development towards working with the service users. The workers were always eager to help and guide without feeling bothered or disturbed. I always felt comfortable and respected by my colleagues.
Language and professional skills: A transformational journey
After several months of working in Integration Center Monika, I will say that I made the best decision because it improved my professional skills and Finnish language skills. For someone who has not been using Finnish language on a daily basis, I was challenged to communicate and learn Finnish every day at work. Also, I feel more confident in client work because of the opportunity to be in social guidance meetings with my colleagues and to conduct a meeting with new service users. My professional skills have improved significantly, especially with client work and documentation. These professional skills will be very useful to me as a future social services worker in teamwork, understanding cultural diversity, cultural sensitivity, and applying effective communication in my work.
I definitely recommend the Integration Center Monika for social services students who want to learn social services work and how to support migrant women, whether your Finnish language is basic or advanced you will have a place and will always feel welcomed and respected.
Final thoughts
Thank you so much, MONIKA, for the opportunity to do my final placement in your organisation. It is a pleasure working with these incredible staff. My experience at Integration Center Monika is something that I will cherish forever.
Text: Chinonyelum Ani