By Madeline Boughton

The aim of this NGO Practicum is for students to act as interns or consultants to various organizations, assisting with their communication needs. Since day 2 we’ve been touring and visiting non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In only six days we visited about 19 different organizations out of 23. Each day is packed with multiple units where they present their goals and missions to students and answer any questions we might have.

The overarching themes of the NGOs we will work with are health and human rights, environmental sustainability, alternative energy, and sustainable fashion. These broad terms include causes such as women’s empowerment, Dalit rights (formerly known as Untouchables), children, sustainable and ethical fashion, sustainable living, radio, solar energy, waste management, and more! This NGO practicum truly offers something for everyone’s interest or passion.

With so many “good causes” it is difficult to choose just one. I could easily choose about 3 places I’d be interested in working for. The other factor that could make choosing an organization difficult is matching an organization with student’s skill sets. Some organizations need assistance with website building, creating pamphlets and flyers or creating short videos to display on existing sites. Fortunately, there is a wide range of skills within the group and we also have “media mentors” that will assist us with technical questions and projects.

After a few days of visiting 5 organizations per day, most of us had an idea of where we want to work. The remaining organizations and speakers were essentially lectures and informative sessions on the functioning and practices in Auroville. Even though we will wind up doing a major project at only one organization, we are now well informed on almost all that Auroville has to offer in terms of advocacy and will use that information when completing our projects and final papers. Some of us are quite anxious to begin work right away. I have chosen to work at the ADECOM Network. This agency advocates for the rights of the Dalit community. I am happy to assist this agency in any way in helping shed light on discrimination against a vulnerable people. We will keep you updated on how our progress and projects turn out.

Thanks for reading!