PRIA International Internship(PIIP)

Intern Testimonies

Roselynn Verwoord

At the time of internship Roselynn was pursuing Bachelor of Education Degree, in the Faculty of Education, at the University of Victoria. (Internship Period: September –December 2005)

“ From September to December 2005, I participated in an international internship with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA). Throughout my internship, I was immersed in PRIA’s head office in Delhi, which allowed me to develop relationships with people within PRIA’s office, which I have continued to foster since completing my internship. The knowledge that I gained pertaining to participatory research and participatory development, during my internship with PRIA, has impacted the way that I think about and practice education and teaching. For example, I actively encourage student participation in education, especially in decision-making. Although I believed that encouraging student participation was important before my internship, I think that the knowledge that I gained during my internship has reinforced and strengthened my understanding of the importance of people’s participation in all areas of life.

Through my internship, I developed a love and passion for learning about India and Indian culture, which has been my main motivation for subsequent return trips to India. Since my internship, I have returned to India four times. I have traveled to historic sites throughout the country, completed a five-week practicum at Bloom Public School in South Delhi, for my Bachelor of Education Degree, and worked as a teacher, teaching grade five and six students. I have also provided informal education to working children in poor areas of South Delhi, through an NGO called ANK.

As a result of my internship, I have an even stronger and renewed sense of passion for working for equality. I have learned to see things from another perspective, and to always question my own thoughts and ideas. My four months in India were life changing.

If there is one thing I learned from my internship with PRIA, it is that you never know where life will take you. I will always think back to the day when I applied for the PRIA internship, and how my life has changed since. My knowledge of participatory research was reinforced and strengthened during my internship, but it was through the cultural experience that my greatest learning occurred.” : Roselynn Verwoord

Sonya White

At the time of Internship Sonya was pursuing B.Sc., University of Victoria, Canada. Currently working on M.A. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto. (Internship Period: winter of 2004-2005)

“I interned in the continuing education department at the head office of PRIA in New Delhi during the winter of 2004-2005. At the time of my internship I had just finished my B.Sc. degree at the University of Victoria in Canada and was seeking an opportunity to blend academic insight with field-based experience. The dynamic conversations that I had with a diversity of PRIA staff members and visiting practitioners enabled me to effectively focus my interests in intercultural collaboration and adult education; I am presently working on my M.A. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto. My work at PRIA taught me that complex social issues need to be approached with patience, sensitivity, and humility. I feel fortunate to continue in conversation with several of my PRIA colleagues and believe that my life has been enriched by the depth and compassion that intercultural collaboration cultivates.” Sonya White

Matthew R. Ferguson

At the time of Internship Matthew was pursuing MA in Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria (Internship Period: September 2007- December 2007)

“ My internship experience with PRIA was a highly educational and formative one in my personal and professional life. My supervisory team was open and accommodating to my ideas and research interests in the effort to find mutual relevance between my own studies and the ongoing fieldwork happening with PRIA throughout India. I traveled to a number of states, got a sense for the diversity and complexity of India, and saw the particular wonders and challenges that each part provides. The PRIA field workers are some of the most motivated and committed people to participatory development, which has instilled in me a profound sense of inspiration and faith in the great capacities people have to better their own lives. I am very grateful for this internship opportunity, and it has without exaggeration, made me a more complete person and a true believer in the strength of the human spirit.” Matthew R. Ferguson

Tina Parbhakar

At the time of internship Tina was pursuing Master of Public Administration, University of Victoria.(Internship Period : September 2007- December 2007)

“My internship at PRIA involved an exploratory study of gender violence in local governance. This topic was chosen to meet both PRIA's desires to look further into issues arising from the 1992 amendments that reserved 33% of local government (Panchayat) seats for women and my desire to pursue the study of gender violence and leadership in governance, respectively. This was a perfect melding of my academic interests and also of my desire to experience and explore a place personally connected to me. Being at PRIA provided the opportunity to work with partner NGOs at state, regional & local levels while being accommodated by a staff that could help inform and negotiate some of the cultural, social and environmental issues that inevitably came up. Some of the women elected representatives I had a chance to interview remarked, "We're not going to stop now!" This speaks to the pursuit of opportunities, like a PRIA internship, that are challenging while also making one believe in the power of people for great change through an accumulation of efforts. Make sure you get a chance to learn participatory methods and engage in participatory research, a much needed approach in our increasingly interconnected and endangered world” Tina Parbhakar

Megan Gaventa

At the time of internship Megan was pursuing a BSc in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom (Internship Period: August – September 2007)

“ Professionally, my time at PRIA in Summer 2007 was invaluable, providing an opportunity for me to gain experience in a national development NGO, and to gain exposure to grassroots development processes. As an intern in the Continuing Education Unit and Gender Team, I was able to develop my research skills and increase my knowledge of civil society development initiatives, participatory methodologies, gender mainstreaming and capacity-building techniques

My time in Delhi and my visits to Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh allowed me to apply this knowledge to Indian contexts, as I learned about a wide variety of issues ranging from girls' access to education, to the problems of rural unemployment, to sexual harassment legislation, to the initially dizzyingly complex urban and rural political systems in place in the country. Particularly valuable learning experiences were opportunities to conduct a review of PRIA's Committee on Gender Mainstreaming and to carry out impact assessments of gender-capacity building workshops held with governmental and civil society organisations, both of which allowed me to work at different stages of research processes, as I developed research designs and materials; conducted interviews; wrote reports; and presented my findings. My experiences at PRIA have encouraged me to pursue interests in participation, gender and research in my future professional life

While professionally my internship at PRIA was extremely important, it is on more personal levels that my memories there stand out. I began to understand some of the realities of volunteering, of negotiating new workplaces, norms and values in countries and cultures very different from my own. The trip further enhanced a desire to learn more about the world around me, and made me recognise the limitations of my own experiences and knowledge. Particularly meaningful were my field visits to Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as I got glimpses of India that I would never have been exposed to otherwise, and was overwhelmed by the warm welcome I received from PRIA staff and the communities in which they were working. I came back from India inspired and even more curious than when I arrived, and looking for opportunities for similar professional and personal experiences in the future.

Upon completion of my degree I will be undertaking a 12-month volunteer placement with Voluntary Services Overseas, at least partly inspired by my time in India and at PRIA” : Megan Gaventa


	Intern Testimonies

	Roselynn Verwoord

	At the time of internship Roselynn was pursuing Bachelor of Education Degree, in the Faculty of Education, at the University of Victoria. (Internship Period: September –December 2005)

	“ From September to December 2005, I participated in an international internship with the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA). Throughout my internship, I was immersed in PRIA’s head office in Delhi, which allowed me to develop relationships with people within PRIA’s office, which I have continued to foster since completing my internship. The knowledge that I gained pertaining to participatory research and participatory development, during my internship with PRIA, has impacted the way that I think about and practice education and teaching. For example, I actively encourage student participation in education, especially in decision-making. Although I believed that encouraging student participation was important before my internship, I think that the knowledge that I gained during my internship has reinforced and strengthened my understanding of the importance of people’s participation in all areas of life.

	Through my internship, I developed a love and passion for learning about India and Indian culture, which has been my main motivation for subsequent return trips to India. Since my internship, I have returned to India four times. I have traveled to historic sites throughout the country, completed a five-week practicum at Bloom Public School in South Delhi, for my Bachelor of Education Degree, and worked as a teacher, teaching grade five and six students. I have also provided informal education to working children in poor areas of South Delhi, through an NGO called ANK.

	As a result of my internship, I have an even stronger and renewed sense of passion for working for equality. I have learned to see things from another perspective, and to always question my own thoughts and ideas. My four months in India were life changing.

	If there is one thing I learned from my internship with PRIA, it is that you never know where life will take you. I will always think back to the day when I applied for the PRIA internship, and how my life has changed since. My knowledge of participatory research was reinforced and strengthened during my internship, but it was through the cultural experience that my greatest learning occurred.” : Roselynn Verwoord

	Sonya White

	At the time of Internship Sonya was pursuing B.Sc., University of Victoria, Canada. Currently working on M.A. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto. (Internship Period: winter of 2004-2005)

	“I interned in the continuing education department at the head office of PRIA in New Delhi during the winter of 2004-2005. At the time of my internship I had just finished my B.Sc. degree at the University of Victoria in Canada and was seeking an opportunity to blend academic insight with field-based experience. The dynamic conversations that I had with a diversity of PRIA staff members and visiting practitioners enabled me to effectively focus my interests in intercultural collaboration and adult education; I am presently working on my M.A. in Adult Education and Community Development at the University of Toronto. My work at PRIA taught me that complex social issues need to be approached with patience, sensitivity, and humility. I feel fortunate to continue in conversation with several of my PRIA colleagues and believe that my life has been enriched by the depth and compassion that intercultural collaboration cultivates.” Sonya White

	Matthew R. Ferguson

	At the time of Internship Matthew was pursuing MA in Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, University of Victoria (Internship Period: September 2007- December 2007)

	“ My internship experience with PRIA was a highly educational and formative one in my personal and professional life. My supervisory team was open and accommodating to my ideas and research interests in the effort to find mutual relevance between my own studies and the ongoing fieldwork happening with PRIA throughout India. I traveled to a number of states, got a sense for the diversity and complexity of India, and saw the particular wonders and challenges that each part provides. The PRIA field workers are some of the most motivated and committed people to participatory development, which has instilled in me a profound sense of inspiration and faith in the great capacities people have to better their own lives. I am very grateful for this internship opportunity, and it has without exaggeration, made me a more complete person and a true believer in the strength of the human spirit.” Matthew R. Ferguson

	Tina Parbhakar

	At the time of internship Tina was pursuing Master of Public Administration, University of Victoria.(Internship Period : September 2007- December 2007)

	“My internship at PRIA involved an exploratory study of gender violence in local governance. This topic was chosen to meet both PRIA's desires to look further into issues arising from the 1992 amendments that reserved 33% of local government (Panchayat) seats for women and my desire to pursue the study of gender violence and leadership in governance, respectively. This was a perfect melding of my academic interests and also of my desire to experience and explore a place personally connected to me. Being at PRIA provided the opportunity to work with partner NGOs at state, regional & local levels while being accommodated by a staff that could help inform and negotiate some of the cultural, social and environmental issues that inevitably came up. Some of the women elected representatives I had a chance to interview remarked, "We're not going to stop now!" This speaks to the pursuit of opportunities, like a PRIA internship, that are challenging while also making one believe in the power of people for great change through an accumulation of efforts. Make sure you get a chance to learn participatory methods and engage in participatory research, a much needed approach in our increasingly interconnected and endangered world” Tina Parbhakar

	Megan Gaventa

	At the time of internship Megan was pursuing a BSc in Sociology at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom (Internship Period: August – September 2007)

	“ Professionally, my time at PRIA in Summer 2007 was invaluable, providing an opportunity for me to gain experience in a national development NGO, and to gain exposure to grassroots development processes. As an intern in the Continuing Education Unit and Gender Team, I was able to develop my research skills and increase my knowledge of civil society development initiatives, participatory methodologies, gender mainstreaming and capacity-building techniques

	My time in Delhi and my visits to Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh allowed me to apply this knowledge to Indian contexts, as I learned about a wide variety of issues ranging from girls' access to education, to the problems of rural unemployment, to sexual harassment legislation, to the initially dizzyingly complex urban and rural political systems in place in the country. Particularly valuable learning experiences were opportunities to conduct a review of PRIA's Committee on Gender Mainstreaming and to carry out impact assessments of gender-capacity building workshops held with governmental and civil society organisations, both of which allowed me to work at different stages of research processes, as I developed research designs and materials; conducted interviews; wrote reports; and presented my findings. My experiences at PRIA have encouraged me to pursue interests in participation, gender and research in my future professional life

	While professionally my internship at PRIA was extremely important, it is on more personal levels that my memories there stand out. I began to understand some of the realities of volunteering, of negotiating new workplaces, norms and values in countries and cultures very different from my own. The trip further enhanced a desire to learn more about the world around me, and made me recognise the limitations of my own experiences and knowledge. Particularly meaningful were my field visits to Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as I got glimpses of India that I would never have been exposed to otherwise, and was overwhelmed by the warm welcome I received from PRIA staff and the communities in which they were working. I came back from India inspired and even more curious than when I arrived, and looking for opportunities for similar professional and personal experiences in the future.

	Upon completion of my degree I will be undertaking a 12-month volunteer placement with Voluntary Services Overseas, at least partly inspired by my time in India and at PRIA” : Megan Gaventa