On May 25, I started a remote internship at Saath, a non-profit based in Ahmedabad, India with the goal of empowering underprivileged communities. Saath runs a variety of programs that support livelihoods, education, women’s empowerment, and migrant workers. I am interning on the Housing Resource Center project, which focuses on housing policy for migrant workers. In addition to housing policy, I work on tasks related to Saath’s response to COVID-19 and the lockdown in India.
For my internship, I have started reading a book about Saath’s work, brainstormed ways to analyze data on people’s experiences during lockdown, and drafted a report on responses to a qualitative survey on the impact of coronavirus on people’s lives. I have meetings with my supervisor and other interns two times a week. I’ve found that I’m really interested in how non-profits decide what programs to operate and how they evaluate those programs. I’ve also discovered that I enjoy condensing and synthesizing information for my report and have gotten great feedback from my supervisor on how to improve my report.
If I had been able to go to Ahmedabad, I would have spent the first week visiting the sites where Saath operates their programs. I wish that I could have gained an in-person understanding of the work that Saath does and talked to the communities that Saath works with. However, I’m grateful that I am still able to do meaningful and challenging work remotely.