Community Development Internship in India

Hi, I’m Ana - I’m 18 years old and I come from Colombia. I’ve been introducing myself this way for the past two months to a lot of different and wonderful people and now it’s time to say goodbye. I’ve been doing an internship in community development in Kerala which has meant I’ve had the privilege of working on all four GVI programs here: education, health, sports, and women’s empowerment. Each one is different so I really enjoyed being able to meet a diverse range of people and project partners. It’s also been great to take learnings from each project and apply them to each session I participate in so that we can get the best results. I’m leaving knowing that this has been some of the happiest eight weeks of my life, not only because of the projects but because of the staff members and volunteers that have joined me on this experience filled up with amazing sunsets, waterfalls, monkeys, morning hikes, Bollywood classes, gobi dinners, afternoon chais and lots of cultural celebrations.

I have immensely enjoyed my time here in Kerala, India. I have been given the privilege to experience a fascinating culture and interact with the wonderful women we met on projects. The staff at the Kerala hub are supportive, helpful, and focused on the vision to empower and educate the people of India. I am leaving with the hope of returning to this place, which has been like a second home.

The overall experience has been fantastic. The staff team have been incredible, i have really enjoyed communal living, the food is out of this world. Its been great to work closely with people from different backgrounds and of different ages who i would not normally cross paths with in life. All of the women and children i have worked with have been fantastic and the whole experience has not only been inspiring and i feel like I've learnt a lot, but its also been great fun.