Hi, my name is Kaavya Mohan and I am entering my second year of studies at 91丝瓜视频, with a major of International Development Studies and minors in Political Science and Psychology. I鈥檝e spent the past three months interning with Aid India in Chennai, India and I鈥檇 like to share with you my wonderful experience.
When I first told friends and family that I was aiming to go on this very long and unpaid internship in Chennai, many of them were confused as to why. You see, my family is actually from Chennai and I myself was born there. However, I left as a newborn and was raised my whole life in Canada. When I first decided to pursue an internship for the summer, I wasn鈥檛 sure what I was really looking for but when I read the description for the position with Aid India, I was immediately captivated with the goals and mission of the NGO. It was perfectly in line with my prior experience with educational centers and held great importance to me both personally and professionally. My objective was not only to aid underprivileged communities like my grandmother鈥檚 but also give me invaluable insight into the challenges faced and inner workings of an NGOs operating within the education sector. Reflecting now, I can confidently say these objectives were reached and surpassed.
Aid India is a registered non-profit organization based in Chennai, working towards improving the education quality for children in Tamil Nadu. AID INDIA is working with 500 Govt. schools and in 1085 villages to improve learning quality. The focus is on improving skills in Tamil, Mathematics, English and Science for children from Kindergarten to Class 12. Their mission is to provide top quality education to the most underprivileged children of society. As an associated company with Aid India, I also worked for ELF Learning Solutions which produces content and lessons as a private contractor to enhance English language skills, both reading and speaking, to children and adults.
Throughout my internship I had several differing roles and responsibilities depending on what project I was working on. My initial tasks included producing content and teaching materials in the form of videos and worksheets in English learning for elementary school children. Later on, ELF was hired by a firm called the Hindustan Oil Exploration Cooperation where I helped employees improve their spoken English in weekly lessons. Moreover, I worked a lot on Aid India and ELF鈥檚 marketing and collaterals to spread awareness about the work that Aid India does. I did a bit of work in data analysis as well for school tutor profile report analysis. There, I was tasked to reenter data into a comprehensive form and find common trends to improve the system. Towards the end of my internship I also had the opportunity to visit and improve learning quality at Aid India鈥檚 very own Eureka learning schools. I travelled to the village school for several weeks and assisted with English comprehension concepts while noting what seems to be more effective for the students. I also worked on seminars for rural women to educate them on personal hygiene, sexual relationships and safety, and the LGBTQ+ community, all topics that are very difficult and taboo in the society. This was quite interesting to me.
One of the most fulfilling and exciting projects I helped with was the launch of Aid India鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Empowerment Program. I was part of the central team of executives in Aid India鈥檚 biggest event of the year. I worked on producing the brochure material and organizational activities needed for an event of that size. The project鈥檚 aim was building the capacity of rural women educators by imparting spoken English, sensitizing them on gender equality, health and hygiene. On a topic so close to heart, I was able to listen to the panel discussions of several inspiring women discussing how to improve the quality of education and life for young women in the state, which moved me greatly. What affected me the most was seeing the culmination of over a month of hard work on stage as several young girls from the schools I had been visiting and 800 women tutors who I had personally added into my work, were so happy for the opportunity to change their lives and learn. When they called me on stage to thank me, I was honoured and for the first time, my skepticism about how much I could really help the organization in my short time, was clear.
These past three months with Aid India have only further ignited and strengthened my passion towards working alongside NGO鈥檚 by providing that very much essential, grassroot approach that is crucial to a career in my field. If I ever had any doubts about where this educational path would take me, my internship has really made it clear not only why but how I can continue on throughout even what may seem the most difficult conditions. I am reassured with this newly received experience that I am most passionate about women鈥檚 empowerment work and will work towards these goals no matter what.
I am so grateful for the experience I was able to gain which really would not have been possible without the considerate funding I generously received from Mr. Currie, who I would like to once again personally thank. The funding was not only able to cover my visa and flight costs (which were the greater bulk of my worries), but also were adequate for transportation within Chennai as well. The funding really made a difference in daily food, travel which did add up over the three months and I am incredibly grateful that I was able to pursue this unforgettable experience.
