Volunteer With Us
An effort, as small as spending time helping others, can go a long way in bringing change in lives of many. The sheer feeling of accomplishment and joy that you get by lending a helping hand to those in need can be quite overwhelming. Such experience also offers a great potential to learn a variety of skills, get to know another culture, another way of life – a great potential to broaden your horizons.
If you are a prospective volunteer with a passion for the issues SWATI deals with, willing to spend a minimum of three weeks with us, please email at swati.org@gmail.com with a copy of your CV and a short statement of interest.
We welcome volunteers from any background and of any nationality. Come work with us and be part of our team. You can make a difference!
Volunteer Experience - Sofia Saiyyad
As an Indian woman born and raised in the US, I grew up not knowing much about the diversity of traditions of the place my family calls “home”. Volunteering with SWATI after I graduated college was a golden opportunity to connect with Indian feminisms and struggles and learn a lot about myself along the way. As a foreigner, I was worried about whether I would be able to contribute to work in India, but SWATI knew how to put me to good use. I truly felt I was able to contribute in a meaningful way to SWATI’s work while learning a great deal about development, feminist organizing, and non-profit administration. Since the organization is small, I got a chance to learn about many aspects of their work rather than being confined to one “department”; my colleagues took me along on field visits and meetings and included me in discussions about policies and problems. And finally the most compelling reason to volunteer for SWATI: the office staff! The women who I worked with everyday are friendly and supportive and it was a joy to get to know them. They went out of their way to make sure I was having fun as well as getting a good volunteer experience.
Volunteer Experience - Iva Walterova
I volunteered for SWATI in the summer of 2010. Although I had only four weeks to spare for this experience, it has made a tremendous difference for me both personally and professionally.
Although the cultural shock was significant at first, I eventually came to enjoy my everyday life in India very much. After arriving in Ahmedabad I found myself among welcoming people who made a great effort to let me understand their culture, customs, their world. They made a significant effort to make me feel at home and understand me and my culture.
My time in India also allowed for significant professional growth. I was able to participate in interesting projects not only as a part of a team but also as a leader encouraged to make decisions. I was able to meet a number of interesting people, professionals in their field, with whom I was able to work, learn from them, who suggested new ways of thinking about issues novel to me. Overall I feel like this intense work experience opened new doors for me.
Despite having spent a rather short time living and working in India, at the end of my four weeks, I was so accustomed to my life there and enjoying it so much that I did not want to leave. I was leaving a place where I was let to feel at home, I was leaving newly-found but close friends, I was leaving work that I was happy to wake up to every day.
At first it might seem like a challenge to undertake such an experience, I cannot however do otherwise than highly and sincerely recommend it to anyone who is passionate about issues SWATI deals with. You would be enriched of an experience of your lifetime personally and professionally. I personally cannot wait until I find the time to go back!