Internship Experience @ Hope Foundation, Kolkata: Stipend of Rs. 4000/month

Name. College. Year of Study.

Siddharth Mishra, Faculty of Law, The ICFAI UNIVERSITY, Dehradun, 1^st Year.

Name of the Organization. City.

Hope Foundation, Kolkata

Duration of the internship. No. of days/week. Timings

4 weeks; 15th May- 15th June 2014.
11 am- 3:00 pm. (Saturdays and Sundays off.)

Application procedure:

I applied personally prior to one month by sending my application to the ID geetahope@gmail.com
Stipend

4000/month; but I did not take the money.

First impression. First day, formalities

I was first given a few forms to fill up as a formality for induction as an intern. I was then given my ID card and kit for work. I also had to hand out my recommendation letter before being assigned the ground work of studying the NGO’s literature.

I studied about the working of the Organisation in great detail including its financial details and achievements. I was also intimated that the organisation has its headquarters in Ireland.

I came to know that the basic work of the NGO was to go out on Friday nights to look for children sleeping on the streets or suffering from physical and sexual abuse and facing other such traumas.

These children were then registered and sent to the childrens’ homes run by the foundation where they received free housing, healthcare, education and other facilities.

Main tasks

My main work was to document and register the children who were abandoned. I was also responsible for giving consultancy on legal matters like filing of cases via the branch office. I also had to take upon the role of a teacher and taught the children English at the boys’ home.

Best things

The best thing about the entire experience definitely was my time with the children. I would teach them and listen to their stories too. I was very amused by their dreams and aspirations.

Though the fate of the children before coming to the shelter home was saddening, I was very proud that I was at least contributing to making their lives better. So yeas, working with children was the best thing.

Also, Kolkata was an amazing city. I enjoyed my stay and went around the city and saw a lot of amazing places. I was struck by how it is a city stagnant in the transition between the old and the new. I really loved the city, its scenes and its shops.

Bad things

My only complaint was with the climate in Kolkata. It was too hot and humid. It was a little difficult to work that way

Anything else you’d like to tell

Interning at an NGO teaches you a lot of ground realities. Plus, it takes immense hard work and dedication to seep into the layers of the society that are not visible to us everyday but still exist. It is very fulfilling when you know you can make the changes you are expected to.