It all started last December when I read an article about internship opportunities in India via StepOut Abroad. I applied for an internship in social development and after some interviews I was selected for an internship in an NGO working for animals protection.
I was particularly eager to go to India and I really wanted to make sure that my stay would live up to my expectations. So I arrived in Jaipur and was greeted and accompanied to the accommodation selected by StepOut Abroad. After a tiring trip (train, plane and bus), I really needed to rest.
So I started my internship at the NGO a few days after my arrival. I was told during the presentations all the details about the structure and how it works. The NGO has encountered many challenges due to deforestation. Some Indian festivals such as the kite flying (Makar Sakranti / Uttarayan) cause many injuries to birds in urban areas. They carry out prevention campaigns so that injured birds are brought to their refuge.
During my internship I had the opportunity to observe and then participate in snake rescues (almost all were non-venomous) but only after training on the behavior to adopt and the rescue process. The NGO has indeed a call center to be able to intervene with the inhabitants and to apprehend the capture and the release of the serpents in their wild environment with precaution.
My internship was really a unique and different experience from a conventional internship. I not only visited a beautiful country but I also rubbed shoulders with the locals.
I hope to have the opportunity to do many other experiences of this type in my life.