Youth for Development

Youth for Development is a partnership between Pravah and Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).

As part of Youth for Development (YfD) program you will get to work in a rural area for six months. This means that you can get the experience of working in these areas as well as use what you learn to help out in some issues which the people out there feel are important for them. But do you think you cannot do alone? Maybe then, you should read ahead – at YFD we also train you for two weeks, provide you with constant mentoring and a monthly stipend till you are with us. Now that does make your work a bit easier and a lot more fun! Who can apply? If you are an Indian resident between the age of 18 - 27 and have some basic knowledge of Hindi and English, you can apply!!

How is it different from any other rural internship?

Here you can learn in two ways: first, you get to learn when we actively design your trainings with our partners, like Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). So you are not simply left on your own while also having the chance to chart your own journey. Second, you of course gain a great deal from the experience of working in an organisation in the field you want. At the end of your placement you will also give your feedback and share your experience with us. The programme will pay for travel, accommodation, food, medical costs, training and a stipend While you are with us, you will also be required to raise a minimum of Rs. 5,000 which will contribute towards your action projects. Again, we will be around to assist you with these various activities, while you get to call the shots.

Testimonials

Ashok Pawar

"I was very blessed to experience six amazing months with the people of Pravah. I worked with the CYSD/plan project (Centre for Youth and Social Development), Orissa .These life changing experiences have encouraged me to work with the children in the future. For the first time I had to stay out of my comfort zone and my biggest problem was that I could not understand Oriya. However after some time I learnt some words which helped me to converse with the staff. Now I can understand the community."

Pooja Mehta

"When I see my past reflected against the living mirror of my YFD experiences, I wonder at its essential shallowness. My pre-YFD worldview is something I largely adapted from my surroundings, especially the views of my parents and peers. Now I find myself at philosophic loggerheads with the very people I care most for. My parents, for instance, think I have gone astray. My friends are sometimes uncomfortable with my new ideas, actions and responses. Today, I have to rebuild my relationships, and this process sometimes tests my patience. The other thing that has changed is the kind of life I would like to live. I am pulled between the familiar security of mainstream options, such as a corporate job and marriage, and the idea of a living a life helping those underprivileged by circumstances and society. If anything, YFD has made my life a little more uncertain… which, I suppose, is the burden of choosing to remove blinkers. A friend asked me the other day how I felt after my YFD stint. I told him, “I feel reborn.” For this wonderful experience, I am grateful to the people of Pravah, SIDH and Ghati."

Rajani

"I find myself at a fix when I have to describe in a few lines my experiences at YFD. The 6 months experience has given me answers to questions of why I keep going back to the villages for camps, why I love working with children and why I prefer attending a workshop rather than attending lectures in college. My YFD experience has pushed me to come out of the barbed wires that I had woven around myself and be more receptive to people."

Click here to download the application form for Youth for Development. THE LAST DATE FOR SUBMITTING APPLICATIONS IS 15th JUNE 2010.

Send in your completed forms to lokasish.saha@pravah.org or to the following address:

Lokasish Saha, Pravah, C-24B Second Floor, Kalkaji, New Delhi-110019.

ABOUT VOLUNTARY SERVICES OVERSEAS

VSO is an international development organization that promotes volunteering to fight global poverty and disadvantage. Volunteering is at the heart of VSO's contribution to development VSO places over 1500 – 2000 volunteers each year in around 35 countries.

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