近日，联合国儿童基金会驻津巴布韦办事处来信，对南京大学地理海洋学院2023级人文地理学专业硕士生张恩齐表示高度认可与诚挚感谢。过去一年，张恩齐在该办事处营养与儿童发展部门实习，信中特别指出她为改善津巴布韦妇女儿童福祉做出了重要贡献。4月1日，办事处官网还发布了张恩齐的自述故事——《My story: From China to Zimbabwe for women and Children》，以下是原文内容。原文链接如下：https://www.unicef.org/zimbabwe/stories/my-story-china-zimbabwe-women-and-children
My story: From China to Zimbabwe
for women and Children
Travelling thousands of miles from China, I joined the UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Office as an intern in the Nutrition and Child Development Section. I am a graduate student from Nanjing University, but my connection with Africa began long before I arrived in Harare.
I once heard a story about an agricultural project in Tanzania during my undergraduate degree, where improved maize seeds helped bring better harvests and better livelihoods. That story stayed with me. Later, I studied African agricultural economics during my master’s programme. Little by little, Africa became more than a place in books and articles—it became a place I hoped to understand more closely.
My First Field Visit to Mutoko
My first field visit in Zimbabwe was to Mutoko, where I joined colleagues in monitoring the Care Group project, which aims to promote behaviour change among caregivers to improve nutrition for children under five. I saw nutritionists, lead mothers, village health workers, NGO staff and government partners learning together. At first, I felt like an outsider, unsure of what to say or do. But as I listened and asked questions, I began to understand something important: development work is not only about plans and indicators, but also about relationships, trust and the quiet effort of people who keep showing up for children and families.
What stayed with me most were the small details:a mother taking notes with a child on her back, the walls covered with breastfeeding messages, the long journeys home after training. That was when I truly understood what fieldwork means.
@UNICEFZimbabwe/2026/Kudzai Mukudoka
I saw nutritionists, lead mothers, village health workers, NGO staff and government partners learning together.
Build the Positive Parenting Project with a Chinese Company
That field experience stayed with me and shaped how I approached my own work, especially the positive parenting project I was primarily responsible for. The project was piloted with a Chinesemining company, Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, in the Goromonzi district. What I had seen in the field taught me that support is most meaningful when it feels practical and close to people’s everyday lives. With that in mind, we designed the project to include interactive elements such as cooking demonstrations and role-plays, so that parenting support would feel engaging, relatable, and easier to apply, rather than distant or overly formal.
What made this project especially meaningful to me was the platform UNICEF gave me to connect different strengths. I was able to contribute my own knowledge and language skills while linking UNICEF’s technical guidance with the practical resources of the Chinese company and the participation of government partners. Through this process, I saw more clearly how collaboration can turn ideas into practical support for children and families.
@UNICEFZimbabwe/2026/Kudzai Mukudoka
Enqi Zhang and Mara Nyawo handing one of the participants a certificate after completing the Positive Parenting Training at PLZ mine on the 21st of March 2026
Looking Forward
Day by day, through following up on projects, I strengthened professional skills in project management and deepened my understanding of child nutrition and development. I have also come to appreciate the strength of the UNICEF team. The section I work with has been incredibly supportive, giving me both the freedom to help shape the project and the guidance of my supervisor and colleagues along the way. That sense of teamwork made a real difference to my internship experience.
There is a Chinese saying that a good childhood can heal a lifetime. Looking back on my internship, I am truly grateful that UNICEF Zimbabwe Country Office allowed me to contribute to early childhood development. This is the mindset I will carry with me: not only what I learned, but why this work matters.
@UNICEFZimbabwe/2026/Kudzai Mukudoka
Participants holding their certificates after completing the Positive Parenting Training on 21 March 2026, alongside their facilitators from Government of Zimbabwe, UNICEF and the PLZ manager
南京大学地理与海洋科学学院充分发挥学科优势，持续加强学生国际视野培养。近年来，学院已成功输送4位学生赴世界自然保护联盟、世界资源研究所、世界气象组织、联合国儿童基金会等国际组织实习，助力南大学子在更广阔的国际舞台上贡献智慧、发出声音。
