Katherine in Indonesia
Participant
Katherine
Programme
Internship
Country
🇮🇩 Indonesia
Duration
20 weeks
Short bio
Hi! I’m Kat, 23 years old, and I did my graduation internship at Daya Krida, Indonesia. As the final part of my International Sport Management & Business degree at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, I wrote my dissertation and carried out additional operational tasks in Indonesia with The Power of Sports.
How satisfied were you with the support from Holland?
Roel and I worked well together and could bounce ideas off each other about next steps, both for my research and for other tasks. Ruben also checked in regularly, so we could think together about the next steps and the future. I found the support really pleasant: I was given a lot of autonomy and free rein in my project, but got support where it was needed
My story
“As well as working together, lovely friendships grew in which we could share everything. This led to a real integration into the beautiful Indonesian culture.”
Katherine · internship in Indonesia
In February 2025 I left for Indonesia, a new adventure. With little preparation for what was really waiting for me, I set off. On arrival I was immediately given a warm welcome by other volunteers and Yogi, the volunteer coordinator. The project had only just been started by the pilot group, which I was briefly part of. After that the project really got going.
My role consisted of helping to run the organisation on the operational side and working on my dissertation, with the research question: “How can Daya Krida (The Power of Sports in Indonesian) maximise its impact by forming partnerships with active local communities, in order to reach unregistered children and children from disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Semarang, leading to an increase in the number of children in Daya Krida’s sports programme?”
This research was demanding and called for close collaboration with the Indonesian team. That team made my time there even more valuable than I had expected beforehand. As well as working together, lovely friendships grew in which we could share everything. This led to a real integration into the beautiful Indonesian culture.
My week consisted of four days working on my dissertation and one day going along to the schools. The experience of teaching these children will stay with me forever. The enthusiasm with which they wait for you, join in with the lesson, dare to share their own ideas, loosen up over time and finally wave you off again can’t be put into words.
The Power of Sports, and Daya Krida specifically, is truly a chance to see the world from the other side and to do your bit for those who need it.
What advice would you like to give future interns and volunteers?
Say a wholehearted ‘YESS!’ to everything. That way you get the most out of your time, which is always too short. Grab every opportunity that comes your way and go into it with an open mind.
Katherine’s photos
