My name is Akaesha, and I’m studying Human Biology at Queens University Belfast. During May and June of 2024, I worked at It’s a Penalty as a Fundraising Intern and having never done an internship before, I truly didn’t know what to expect. I quickly learnt that It’s a Penalty is an extremely welcoming organisation, composed of some incredible women who made working with them so easy.

I had worked with charities before, but this was the first time I got to see the ins and outs of how a charity works, and they took this into account by not only answering any questions that I had and actively encouraged me to join the team meetings and participate in them as much as I could. Getting to meet the other members of the team, hearing about the impactful work they carry out and seeing them collaborate with each other broadened my understanding of the organisation’s mission and operational strategies. I was also very lucky to sit in such important meetings to see IAP collaborate with other West Midlands trafficking prevention charities and West Midlands Police, which influenced my perspective on how law enforcement tackles trafficking and that such a complex issue needs all of us to work together to help end it.

I joined It’s a Penalty for the incredible work that they do to help prevent human trafficking. Working with them truly opened my eyes up to how deep the problem of human trafficking runs and the impact it has on each and every one of us. From the clothes we wear to the food and devices we buy, trafficking impacts everything. Economically, it undermines labour markets, lowers wages, and increases public costs for law enforcement and social services. Socially, it violates human rights, erodes community trust, and contributes to increased crime and health issues. Having completed the Student Ambassador Programme training on the online platform Mighty Networks, the true extent of this problem shocked me. 

I think being an international student I have first-hand seen the complete lack of awareness we have about our rights to reside, work and rent in the UK and how vulnerable that can leave us. Hearing the stories about missing international students and real-life examples highlighted in the online training, made me realise how easy it is to get trapped by traffickers. The Student Rights and Safety course was something I definitely needed to learn more about and cannot recommend the course enough. It covers materials that we all need to know but very rarely know about. Getting to add to the Mighty Networks platform by creating a fundraising video guide was lovely! This covered topics such as how to set up a Just Giving page, how to handle donations and how to properly advertise a fundraising event. It was so nice for me to see my own little impact in helping someone else’s journey with It’s a Penalty.

My time with It’s a Penalty coincided with their 10 year anniversary and was asked to help with collecting data for the anniversary celebrations. I reviewed all 18 Impact Reports for all the major sporting global event campaigns they have carried out through the years and the sheer impact that they have had through these campaigns is absolutely astounding. From reaching millions of people over social media, training thousands of staff members, helping to get missing children reunited with their families and getting stars like Liam Neeson and Usain Bolt to help them spread awareness is just the tip of the iceberg of the amazing things It’s a Penalty has carried out.

I would like to thank everyone for making me feel so welcome and especially Liz Lowther, Student Ambassador Programme Coordinator, who I couldn’t have done any of this without. Overall, my time with It’s a Penalty has been one which taught me so much and provided both personal and professional growth and will always be a time that I cherish. The environment they provided was so welcoming and encouraging and I always felt like my skills and opinions were valued. The work that It’s a Penalty does cannot be praised enough, and I will always try my best to support this wonderful charity.

Written by Akaesha Negi