Spending my summer in a country like India, and in a metropolitan city like New Delhi has allowed me to explore different challenges in the development field.
Through my internship with IMAGO, I have come to learn the importance of root organizations, as well the community-based development. In every interview that I had with SEWA – Imago’s main client and partner – members always highlighted the importance of listening and help in line with what cooperative and organizations need, rather than impose a solution. SEWA’s decentralized approach has been key to provide tailored solutions and personalized support in a way that larger organizations cannot provide.
In this line, and for someone like me who comes from working in government and multilateral organizations, my internship has allowed me to see a different way in which non-profit organizations contribute to development, how they operate, what is the scope of their work, and what challenges they face. From the inside, it has also led me to work with people with similar goals, but from different backgrounds and expertise.
Although I am still thinking on what the next ladder in my professional career will be, my time at IMAGO has helped me to broaden my horizons regarding non-profit work, the field of micro entrepreneurship and gender, the use and application of mixed-methods evaluations and the importance of listening before executing.
I will take these lessons with me wherever I go next, to India and beyond.
