In the days soon after my graduation, the rush to be on my own, earning and independent was palpable. Immediately after my college in Bangalore I came to Delhi looking for a job. I was excited and soon enough found a job with Royal Bank of Scotland Pvt. Ltd. More than a career per se I was keen to take a job and explore my choices and passion thereafter. My journey with RBS was a great learning experience and helped me grow both personally and professionally. I had an incredibly rewarding job and the years spent there will always remain special to me.
The long years of working in the same company, however, took its toll, no matter how incredible it was. Being there for few years, soon felt tedi
ous and monotonous. As such I felt the need for a change and took leave from work. In between the break from work and contemplation for the next job, I decided to explore my long held desire to work in the social sector, a non-profit, social sector, kind of field.
The non-profit sector has always been a place I thought I could explore for learning as well as make a difference, having experienced how well-meaning and competent NGOs have enriched the lives of the exile population.
Having been a professional and and a competent one at that, I was worried if I could successfully deliver the demands of the job without any prior experience. So initially, the apparent lack of experience and education held me back in actively pursuing it. Later, in order to gain insight into how an NGO functions or the general know-how and experience, I thought of doing an internship for few months to begin with.
A friend of mine knowing my interest recommended Empowering the Vision Project (ENVISION)- an NGO that worked with Tibetans in helping them become self-reliant and contributing members of the society, through capacity building and other exposure programmes. Coincidentally around the time I sat down to explore, ENVISION announced an internship vacancy at their office in Delhi. I seized this moment as my calling and applied soon after. I was fortunate enough for called for an interview, and a week later I was asked to join the organisation for a six-month internship.
I was nervous yet excited to join them. The cordial and positive working environment at ENVISION made me comfortable and I adapted to my life as an Intern in no time. The staff at ENVISION are very friendly, accommodating and treat each other with respect which I found so inspiring, encouraging and also important for any new comer to be part of an organisation. Even being an Intern, I was treated like any one of them by the management as well as by the staff. My supervisor ensured that I was involved in all the events, programmes and training and also encouraged me to participate and share feedbacks. Certainly so, I was happy and content at ENVISION.
When I joined the organization in June, the ENVISION team were working on an important 3-day event titled Compassion in Action: Legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Dalai Lama. This was one of the very first events I was becoming a part of and I wanted to do my best. My excitement for the program and the passion, and encouragement from staff and management, had me diving in full throttle into the preparation of this event. All of us worked very hard for close to a month to bring the 3-day event to fruition. During the course of the event, I realized my strengths and my limitations, and I also got to explore different skills that i never thought i had. I am fortunate I could learn so much during this time.
In the proceeding months after the heady days of the event was over, I observed that the team at ENVISION is a young group. For many their first jobs, and that just like me a few acquired skills while on the job and continued improving or excelling as the environment around at work is encouraging and enabling. This was a big boost to my confidence. I was so convinced and determined that I would make the most of internship here.
Apart from contributing during events, my primary responsibility was data management. My background in data came in handy as I was expected to streamline the backlog of data amassed over the years. Further, a sound data enables proper track of services provided, clients benefited, etc. It’s an integral part of ENVISION’s mission to ensure everyone that approach us is attended to with any possible service and data plays a big part in ensuring that. I was able to do a good job out of it and was applauded by all, so much so that I got an extension on my Internship at ENVISION.
The best part of ENVISION is its transparency and open communication within the staff and the management which makes the small team work like a close family. ENVISION believes in building the capacity of individual staff and thereby helps with training the staff as and when possible or required. I had the good fortune to be part of the capacity building training on effective communication and project management along with the entire staff during my Internship. The trainings were very insightful and helpful and certainly useful to us and our work, no matter where we will be working in future.
My internship at ENVISION was a great learning experience. It provided me with ample opportunity to enhance my skills, helped widen my knowledge on different aspects of NGO operations, and also to overcome certain limitations. I have made the most out of this internship and I am hopeful I will continue to learn and grow while at ENVISION.