This week at Chernobyl Children International, Kinsale Community College student Chichi joined our team for her work experience as part of her Transition Year modules. Here is what Chichi has to say about her week working at CCI HQ:

“From the second I stepped through the door on Monday, I felt comfortable at Adi Roche’s Chernobyl Children’s International (and not just because it provided some desperately needed warmth after a chilly early morning!). I was made to feel welcome and relaxed, a stark contrast to the high pressure atmosphere I expected. I was given a tour of the office from Ann, the secretary at the office.

What my week entailed

Administration

During my time at CCI, I did lots of office admin including loads of typing, printing and shredding (which I found incredibly therapeutic!)

Communications

I helped to draft a thank you letter to John Boyle from the Irish National Teacher’s Organisation who kindly donated to the Chernobyl Children International Christmas Appeal
I also wrote a blog for the news section of the CCI (which you’re reading now) and shared that to social media
As the CCI Christmas Appeal was ongoing, I helped to print and send thanks you letter and receipts to donors

Research

I also did lots of research in terms of watching promo videos, related to the Chernobyl Disaster and listing old CCI documents to be archived next year. I did research into the Nuclear Disasters that have happened around the world such as Fukushima and Chernobyl

The friendly environment meant I had no problem asking questions, as people were so willing to help that I didn’t feel as if I was bothering them or wasting their time. This allowed me to take much more enjoyment from the tasks I was set, as I wasn’t sat around for a long periods of time wondering what to do.

Final Thoughts

I would like to thank everyone at CCI for being so welcoming, considerate, kind and helpful. Over this week I got a realistic overview of what life in the office was really like from more than one perspective. It has been really interesting finding out about Chernobyl and the effort put into running such a huge organisation is amazing. I’ve had the best time and would definitely recommend to anyone thinking of doing work experience at CCI. I will miss working here, and I’ve really enjoyed it. It has been a great experience.”