Lights, Camera, Action: Vartika’s social endeavors at CRY
About the Author: Vartika Jain is pursuing BA in Mass Communication from Symbiosis Centre of Media and Communication. She tells how she grabbed an internship at Child Rights and You, and the experience she gained.
My 6-week internship at Child Rights and You (CRY) has been extremely useful and knowledgeable with new experiences on every corner. I was looking forward to it since the time I applied to CRY. There are two options if you want to do something for the organization; either you apply for volunteering or an internship. The internship requires a full-time contribution for at least 4 weeks – Monday to Friday, from 10 am to 5 pm. On the other hand, volunteering is on weekends, occupying only two hours of your day for at least 6 months.
To intern, you have to apply online by sending the application form and resume to the provided email id. The interns are shortlisted on the basis of their resume, followed by a telephonic interview that would decide whether you’re selected or not. In my case, my college sent my resume and application form and they got an email stating that the telephonic interview will take place soon. A couple of days later, I got a call from the volunteer action manager. The questions I was asked were based on my skills, whether I had done any internships in the past and the work I was allotted there, details of my course and how it would help me in the internship.
I cleared the interview and got the desired internship. I was allotted the communications team, and an external project with CRY’s partner association, Sparsha, that focuses on capturing and shooting success stories in the slums of Mumbai. So, we had to interact with the people, understand their life stories, interview them, and shoot a short film. The experience I gained from this project will be remembered for a lifetime. I knew about the hardships people had to go through, but seeing it through my eyes, hearing from their mouths, and living a few hours of their lives was moving. It made me realize how fussy I was despite being privileged. It made me realize how satisfied one can be in the presence of their loved ones around in spite of the absence of the basic necessities.
Apart from the emotional aspect, I learned a lot about the technicalities of camera, lighting, and editing. This was the first time I and my partner-intern made a film – from writing the script to editing the movie – and it was indeed very useful. Also, my language was polished as well since I was told to write blogs and stories.
A tip to future interns- Just give your best to the work allotted, be sincere, and you will definitely get to learn a lot of new things.
Are you also inspired by Vartika’s journey? Check out these latest social work internships and video making internships.
Editor’s note – If you also have an interesting story to share, you can now participate in Your Internship Story Contest 2017 and win cash prizes and goodies worth INR 1 Lac!
