Intern or Volunteer with Grassroots Community Development Organizations in India

  India

Jodhpur,  Udaipur

Term: Throughout the year 
Durations of Program: 5-8 weeks, 9-12 weeks, 3-6 months, 7-12 months and 1-2 years
Typical Duration of Program: 5-8 weeks
Dates: Varies

Description: Examples of how you can support Community Development in India:

* Help secure access to safe drinking water and assist in finding employment for local community members through watershed management and community capacity-building initiatives.

* Draft impact assessments on past projects such as solutions for displacement, farmer education initiatives, obtaining access to governmental programs, models for demanding rights, and improving literacy.

* Support a capacity building program by setting up management systems, preparing training modules, offering workshops, and undertaking research studies related to understanding the social actors of governance.

* Assist promotion of renewable energy technology such as smokeless woodstoves, bio-gas plants, solar stoves and lamps in rural communities.

* Help local industries develop industrial greenbelts and start recycling bio-degradable wastes.

* Support an organization's migrant labor programs by providing shelter, health and financial services for migrant groups in destination centers.

*Research successes of local, grassroots development organizations and propose collaborative networks that may attack common problems in the communities.

For more opportunities in community development in India, visit our website or contact us directly.

About FSD

The Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1995 to support underserved, international communities in a collaborative and sustainable manner. Our model incorporates three overlapping programs:

1. Sustainable Development Training Programs for Interns and Volunteers
FSD provides comprehensive training and immersion programs for interns and volunteers seeking hands-on experience in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Program participants come from countless professions and more than 300 universities worldwide to collaborate with our partner organizations on community-driven projects that reflect sustainable practices.

2. Grantmaking to Projects and Initiatives Led By Our Partner Organizations
Donations and grants given to FSD are used to support projects and initiatives implemented by our partner organizations, site teams, interns, and volunteers.

3. Sustainable Development of Community-Based Organizations
Our professional field staff, consultants, and program participants provide on-site technical training and capacity building to more than 200 community-based organizations.

Highlights: Community Issues Addressed by FSD in India
Following independence, India created a strong centralized federal government. However, over three quarters of the Indian population continue to live in rural villages - all diverse communities separated by geography, religion, and language. The large, bureaucratic federal government struggled to coordinate and manage these communities, creating a huge gap between the state and its citizens. This has led to problems with the quality of such things as healthcare, schooling, and labor rights in many rural communities.

Forms of local governance have emerged to ensure that justice and equality are afforded to all Indian citizens. Success in grassroots governance is largely due to the work of many NGOs that focus on community development in rural areas. Road construction, rights for migrant laborers, and improvements in waste management are all examples of recent achievements that village community groups were recently afforded after collaboration with local organizations.

Interns in Rajasthan will have the opportunity to work directly on community development in a place where many remain ignorant about their legal rights and isolated from their political system. FSD works to empower local communities by assisting grassroots organizations to form village level seminars, provide training programs, and organize rallies. These organizations work in the communities to establish local management committees, which generate awareness and encourage political and social change. These non-governmental organizations are extremely effective agents for change, but continue to need help with public relations, impact-assessment reports, and facilitation of educational workshops within these communities.

Additional Programs are Available in: Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Peru, Uganda, and Kenya.

Minimum Education: High School

Cost in US$: Varies

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: FSD supports participants who boldly wish to initiate the change they believe is necessary in the developing world. Interns are passionate about sharing their practical knowledge, heart-felt enthusiasm, and economic resources with communities abroad that suffer unnecessary hardship. They wish to gain hands-on, grassroots development experience because they believe change is most powerfully cultivated on a community level. The aim is to experientially learn how their work can empower the community toward applying sustainable development solutions, rather than increasing reliance on foreign aid. Participants choose FSD because the program structure enables them to design and implement their own sustainable projects in collaboration with their host organization. They are able to test their ideas and theories in the most direct way possible, giving them the experience and knowledge they seek. The flexibility of the host organizations allows for participants at all stages and levels of experience in international development to participate, thus opening the programs to a diverse group of capable applicants.

Age Range: 18-75

This Program is open to World Wide Participants.

Participants Travel to India Independently

Typically Participants Work Independently Or in Groups of 3-10

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Resume
• Written Application

Post Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit DebriefingAbroad
• Job and Internship Network

Foundation for Sustainable Development's Mission Statement: FSD supports the efforts of grassroots organizations in the developing world that are working to better their communities, environments, and the economic opportunities around them. We believe community development is only sustainable if it empowers the people to effectively use and cultivate their own resources in a conscious manner. Through our programs, we aim to raise international awareness of the economic challenges in developing countries and to support cross-cultural communities in finding more effective solutions to development issues.

Year Founded: 1995