Kimani DeShields-Williams, IPD ’18

International Organization for Migration (IOM) IPSS

I have had the amazing opportunity to work with The International Organization for Migration for the past 6 months as an intern for the Migrant Protection and Assistance Unit. Through my time in Bangkok I was able to achieve the following:

• Design and conduct a financial literacy training for migrant workers in Myanmar in Ranong, Thailand
• Participate in multiple trainings/workshops on migrant child protection
• Present new organizational tools for data collection and case monitoring for AVRR cases to government officials and local CSOs
• Participate in IOM’s Regional Policy Coordinating Committee Conference
• Research migrant debt and provide recommendations
• Gain extensive knowledge in migrant return and reintegration, counter-trafficking and protection of vulnerable groups
• Gain experience in proposal development, review and coordination
Influence on Goals

Before embarking on this journey, I had an idea of the type of career I wanted, but I was not sure what form it would take. Migration management has been an interest of mine for a long time, specifically resettlement, yet the field involves multiple components. For example, under the Migration Management Department in IOM, there is migrant protection and assistance, immigration and border management, migrant health and labour mobility and human development. After being exposed to the work of the various departments, I hope to continue working in migrant protection and assistance through specializing in reintegration programming and migrant protection in emergencies. Overall, the experience has further defined my career aspirations and clarified what is right for me in terms of areas I would like to gain expertise, what role I would like to play and the type of organization I would like to work for.

However, another passion of mine is finding ways help fellow minorities who wish to work in development or the UN system or creating a space for minorities in the field. It is a fact that people of color are scarce in this field and there are many characteristics that make it not as feasible for students like myself. I hope to have established a mechanism of some sort to bridge the gap and support people of color in this field. I believe it is important for the populations development and aid caters to, to see people like themselves also being key actors.

I am extremely grateful for this experience with IOM in Bangkok and the IPSS program for making it possible to gain hands-on experience while pursuing my education. I have now moved to start my career with IOM as a Programme Support Officer in Chad!