Tineke Knigge (LPC 94-96) has just facilitated the establishment of a new office for the International Justice Mission in Kigali, Rwanda.  Tineke has been working for the International Justice Mission for over a year, on a volunteer basis for much of this time, initially in South Asia on sex trafficking cases and now in Rwanda. 

Before heading abroad to volunteer, Tineke worked for international law firm, Baker & McKenzie in London and Brussels, specialising in EC competition law. Tineke studied at the University of Durham, UK and the University of Rouen, France as well as completing her Legal Practice Course at Nottingham Law School. She also spent the summer of 1998 working in a children’s camp in the USA and learnt Italian over one summer in Florence, Italy and the following year enjoyed the summer learning Spanish in Valencia, Spain.

“UWC was presented to me at a ‘career choice’ evening at School.  My mother, who had come along to the evening with me, remembers that when I heard about the possibility of studying abroad at a United World College, my eyes started to shine.  Once my parents had taken a big gulp (the first of many) and allowed me to apply, I was unstoppable”. says Tineke.

“I think the main benefit of my UWC education is that it prepared me really well for cross-cultural work.  I learned to cope with living abroad in a very different culture.  I also learned to interact with people from all continents.  If I had not had African friends and roommates at LPCUWC I do not think that I would have been able to cope with moving to Rwanda by myself without knowing anyone and without ever having been to Africa before.  More prosaically, my UWC experience completely changed the course of my life, as I caught the travel bug and have lived abroad ever since – with no regrets". 

“Most of the United World Colleges take on the character of the surrounding culture, and in our case this meant that much of the Chinese work ethic was imported into LPCUWC, which was a bit of a shock.  Another big difference was obviously that of living in the school and having a much closer contact with the teachers and my fellow students.  It was very difficult to get enough sleep at UWC as there were so many interesting people to talk to until very late at night!  Also, there were so many extra-curricular activities to sign up for that it was almost impossible to find time to study.  Being away from home was also very difficult, as I was only 16 when I went to UWC and struggled with frequent bouts of homesickness.

“Another, more personal, challenge was that it my first time to come into contact with people from very different cultures and faiths.  I was brought up as a Christian and, through interacting with others at UWC, I came to question many of my personal beliefs that I had previously taken for granted.  Ultimately, however, this confrontation with other beliefs actually deepened my faith and put it on a stronger footing.

"I enjoyed studying and was fortunate to do really well at UWC, university and in gaining my professional qualifications later on.  I went on to a potentially very promising career in EC competition law at Baker & McKenzie, an international law firm.  I worked in their London, Amsterdam and Brussels offices, which was a very enjoyable and glamorous job.  However, after five years, I decided to take the plunge to change my career direction, and go into international human rights law.  Last year, I went to volunteer for the International Justice Mission (IJM) in South Asia, where I worked on sex trafficking cases.  IJM is an international human rights agency, based on Christian principles, that seeks justice on behalf of victims of abuse and oppression who cannot rely on local authorities for relief.  In January this year, I moved to Rwanda to set up the new IJM office there, which has been a huge challenge.  It is a real privilege to use my education, skills and talents to serve some of the most vulnerable and marginalised people in the world.  I barely get paid right now, but doing work that I am truly passionate about is priceless".