It is difficult to summarise in a few words what I have experienced in the last 4 months. I was fortunate enough to go to the Indian NGO for children’s rights called El Shaddai Charitable Trust. I was participating in the Global Impact Project, a new programme by EDHEC Business School, initiated in partnership with the SPJIMR Development of Corporate Citizenship (DoCC) course. SPJIMR DoCC offers participants immersive social internships across India and South Asia to engage with grassroots communities and organisations. This allows the participants to reflect on and apply what they have learned in management to unstructured environments.
El Shaddai Charitable Trust has several projects in the areas of education, child protection, women empowerment and advocacy for the rights of children, especially the marginalised and those from the streets and orphans in Goa. I feel lucky to have been so well received by my colleagues and the children. I will never forget them. Their love, their smiles. I’ll carry them in my heart forever. I have returned to France with the sadness of leaving this behind and the happiness of having lived such beautiful moments.
I come out of this experience with wisdom and humility. I am even more motivated to work in the social sector and to commit myself to meaningful causes. I have definitely found my way and look forward to seeing what the future holds. I strongly recommend to everyone to definitely volunteer for a cause they care about. Go out of your country, explore the world outside your home, and open yourself.
I would like to thank personally Amal TC (Shelter Incharge, El Shaddai Charitable Trust), Prof. Chandrika Parmar (Director DoCC), R Konghay (DoCC team), Sonia Gastaud (EDHEC Head of Global Impact and Mobility Programmes) and Léo-Paul Queinec (Peer Global Impact Project) for sharing this journey with me. And finally, it is, thank you, India!