Olivia Molden, Whitman College, WA (EFL, Intern)
Interning at EFL for a couple months in the summer was one of the most rewarding work experiences I have encountered. I arrived in the middle of organizing the first snakebite awareness forum in Sri Lanka and was quickly immersed in actively advertising, setting up and filing information on the events preceding the forum and the forum itself. During this time period, I learned not only a lot about snakebites and organizing such an enormous event but gained much from the variety of perspectives of others working at EFL and those involved in the program.
As the snakebite awareness program successfully concluded I got involved in other small projects – one of which included an inspiring field trip to villages on the East coast to help finalize a home-garden project. However, over my internship I mainly focused on gathering general and organization specific information on climate change relevant to Sri Lanka as a type of needs-assessment with other interns to help provide direction for EFL to start and possibly partner on a climate change adaptation program. Most memorable to my internship though was the integrity, flexibility, energy, professionalism and cooperation of those working at EFL. EFL truly demonstrated characteristics of an efficient, functional and quality organization seeking to fulfill its goals of working towards environmental justice in Sri Lanka.
