Asha Grassroots Internship Program

Asha for Education Grassroots Internship Program

Every year, Asha for Education gets numerous requests from individuals, who would like to spend 6 months to a year at an Asha project in India. Many Asha projects have the infrastructure and desire to host such individuals. If you are interested in becoming an intern at our project site in India:

Read FAQs on the grassroots program below.
Check for available internship positions below.
Indicate position from step (2) above where you would like to intern by filling in the Internship Request form.

The Asha Internship program provides a unique opportunity for individuals who are interested in hands on volunteering in India to spend 6 weeks to a year at an Asha sponsored project in India.

If you are interested in the Asha Coordination team Internship Program where you can work with Asha for Education coordination team – Click here

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Can anybody do an internship?
We would like to ensure that the prospective intern and the project partner find the internship to be mutually beneficial. We screen both prospective interns and our projects for their suitability.

What do we seek from an intern?

We would like the intern to be able to demonstrate that he or she is sensitive to the cultural and environmental differences in India, and is willing to adjust well during the internship.
Many projects we support are in areas where English is not spoken. For this reason, we would like the intern to demonstrate his/her willingness to communicate in the local language, if necessary, during the internship.
To make it meaningful, the internship should be for at least 6 weeks.
The intern should be able to demonstrate that he/she can support the cost of the internship for its duration.

What are the financial costs of the program to the intern?
The intern will be expected to support cost for food, boarding and lodging (approx. $100 per month. The amount varies slightly by project)

What does the process involve?
The intern will check our list for available internship positions, select an internship position of interest, and will submit the ‘Request for Internship’ form. The Internship Coordinator will confirm candidacy with the project partner and connect the intern with the project.

What is the lead time required for processing to start of the internship?

You must send in your application 2 months prior to start to give sufficient time for communication between intern, project partner and the internship coordinator.

What does the Intern need to do on completion of the Internship?
The intern must submit a report to internship@ashanet.org. The report will be used by us to share information as necessary.

Does Asha for Education provide a certificate upon completion of internship?

If a certificate is needed, let the internship coordinator know about it and you will receive it.

I have some more questions. Who do I ask?
Send an email to: internship@ashanet.org

Available Internships

	Sarvodaya Parivar Trust (SPT)
Name of the Project	Sarvodaya Parivar Trust (SPT)
Location: State	Gujarat
Location: Detailed	SPT has two schools. Pindval & Khadaki near Dharampur. Pindval is about 30 Km from town of Dharampur. Khadaki is further 30 KMs in the hills & is not even on Google maps.
Available time of internship	Mid Sep to early March would be suitable for an intern.
Available duration of internship	3 weeks to 3 months or longer.
Intern responsibilities	Khadaki is in a remote area in the hills of Dharampur. 100% of population consists of gentle, simple, happy tribal people. Khadaki is on the bank of a river, a very scenic & serene place. Many children are the first school goers in their family. The school is open from Mid June to mid April. Schools are from Std 1 to Std 8. Interns can teach English, basic Math, computer, music, dance etc. & participate in extra curricular activities. Kids are from poor background in a remote place. You can help them get a glimpse of the big world beyond their hills.
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	No
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	We will provide simple Indian vegetarian food & simple living place free of cost. Donation is not required but is welcome
Approximate living expenses	There is no place to spend money, except for occasional eating out.
Is there access to medical facilities?	No
Is there access to internet and phone?	Khadaki is very remote. There is no cell phone or internet. Pindval is less remote. Cell works some of the time. Internet works rarely.
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	No travels will be required.
Additional comments, if any.

	Kaivalya Trust
Name of the Project	Kaivalya Trust
Location: State	Gujarat
Location: Detailed	Nagaria, Dharampur, Dist Valsad, Gujarat, India
Available time of internship	After June 2015
Available duration of internship	6 weeks or less
Intern responsibilities	Interactive Class Room Teaching on various subjects such as English, Science, Math, Music or Painting etc. We had volunteers from different fields who visited our school from various countries: France, America, Germany, Belgium etc.
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	Male/Female, 20-30 years
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	None
Approximate living expenses	None
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	No
Additional comments, if any.

	Puvidham Rural Development Trust
Name of the Project	Puvidham Rural Development Trust
Location: State	Tamil Nadu
Location: Detailed	Nagarkoodal village, Dharmapuri Dist, Tamil Nadu
Available time of internship	Any time
Available duration of internship	3 months or longer
Intern responsibilities	Depends on the interest and ability of the intern. The different possibilities are class facilitation, surveys, office documents update, organic farming, carpentry, earth construction, spinning, weaving, baking and other life skills.
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	Nil
Approximate living expenses	Nil
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes, we have access to herbal medicine only. For all other medical needs, we have to go 20kms.
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes. Internet is through a data card only, we do not have a land line. the intern must bring their own data card.
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	No
Additional comments, if any.

	Sai Seva Sadan
Name of the Project	Sai Seva Sadan
Location: State	Telangana
Location: Detailed	Hyderabad
Available time of internship	Any time in the year would work for us.
Available duration of internship	3 months or longer
Intern responsibilities	Overall project improvements in terms of – process – new programs – social media publicity – new funding initiatives – In any other ways the interns see their skills being fit and can be leveraged. NOTE: If interns wants to work from USA that is welcome as well as they can work on tasks that do not involve physically being present at the site
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	No
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	Nil
Approximate living expenses	Nil
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	No
Additional comments, if any.

	Asha Darshan
Name of the Project	Asha Darshan
Location: State	Assam
Location: Detailed	Assam-Bhutan Border, Baksa Dist., Assam
Available time of internship	August onwards
Available duration of internship	3 months or longer
Intern responsibilities	1. English teaching in the org. staff and teachers, 2. Reporting and Documentation of the Org., 3. Org. Management. 4. data analysis and 5.Computer teaching
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preferences
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs. 10,000
Approximate living expenses	Rs. 15,000
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?
Additional comments, if any.

	Kalanjiyam Trust
Name of the Project	Kalanjiyam Trust
Location: State	Tamil Nadu
Location: Detailed	Chennai or villages in Maduranthakam
Available time of internship	Between July and September or December- January period in the year.
Available duration of internship	6 weeks or less
Intern responsibilities	We have projects in education, health and skill building, in both urban and rural settings. The following include the type of activities that interns can do: – Teaching Math and Science, to primary, and upper primary children – Teaching spoken English to the local young people and students in higher secondary – Data analysis, reporting and Documentation of project efforts, helping us to develop specialized publicity material – Assisting in our health camps / special camps with specific populations – Helping to organize / conduct skill training programs for young people – soft skills, computer skills etc – Training our rural / urban teams on project management etc – Advising us on resource mobilizing
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	Male/Female, 20-30 years
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	$350 to $500
Approximate living expenses	approximately $50 per day
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Yes, if the Intern is staying in Chennai and working with us in the rural area, then travel will be involved. Travel time from Chennai to our village location is about 1.5 hours one way by car; or 2 to 2.5 hours by public transport. other than this the project work only requires travel to some local villages which will be half hour to one hour and taken car of by us.
Additional comments, if any.	There are no special circumstances. Only the usual awareness of the rural setting. Our field office in Kalpat village is secure and the community is well aware of our efforts. We have a guesthouse build in the premises, so there is no problem in terms of stay. however one cannot just wander around by themselves; the village is about 4 kms from the main road. so it would be best to have a few interns stay together at the same time. Other precautions such as immunizations are a must. Dressing / clothing should be appropriate, kurtha pyjamas, or full pants etc. for local conditions.

	Jabala Action Research Organization
Name of the Project	Jabala Action Research Organization
Location: State	West Bengal
Location: Detailed	Kolkata
Available time of internship	Between May- October
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	Documentation, Surveys, Field work
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	Female, 25-30 years
Are boarding facilities available?	No
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs. 10,000-12000 per month
Approximate living expenses	Rs. 7500 per month
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Yes. Around 15% of total duration.
Additional comments, if any.	Cultural issues and travel to certain locations to be borne in mind.

	Prayas
Name of the Project	Prayas
Location: State	Rajasthan
Location: Detailed	Village Amarpura, Tehsil Bhadesar, Chittorgarh
Available time of internship	Throughout the year except from 15th May to 30th June.
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	In room teaching, surveys, data analysis, change management activities
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	Male/Female, 20-30 years
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs. 4000/ month
Approximate living expenses	Rs. 1000/ month
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Yes. About 50% of the time local travel and 10% other kinds of travel
Additional comments, if any.

	Payir Trust
Name of the Project	Payir Trust
Location: State	Tamil Nadu
Location: Detailed	Thenur
Available time of internship	We have interns from various organizations coming in through out the year, so any time of the year is OK
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	Payir Trust provides excellent field experience for interns from all backgrounds. Opportunities include (but not limited to): – Enhancement and Expansion of existing projects + Primary Health Center + Formal Learning Center + Children Nutrition Program + Adolescent Girls Empowerment Program + Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment Program + Documentation, surveys, team building – Implementing new projects independently or in collaboration with Payir Trust + Expanding our bag making unit + Training local villagers on new skill set and creating employment opportunities + Improving organic farming methodologies + Surveys of many types: people, children, demographics, land, water, cattle, vegetation + Water shed improvement projects – Helping with bringing in financial aid / donations to Payir Trust – Helping with spreading the good work done by Payir Trust over printed media, social media, regular and digital marketing
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	No
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	Yes
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs. 100/day
Approximate living expenses	Rs.100/day
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Maybe depending on which village the interns choose to work with. All villages are within 10km radius of Thenur where the interns will stay. If intern chooses to work in Thenur – 10% travel If intern chooses to work outside Thenur – 60% travel
Additional comments, if any.	It is a village in India. But it is well connected to nearest city, internet, phones. Power supply may be erratic in summer. No security / environmental / cultural sensitive issues

	Anannia
Name of the Project	Anannia
Location: State	Kerala
Location: Detailed	Karakulam, Thiruvananthapuram
Available time of internship	June to April
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	1. In room teaching 2. Fund raising activities 3. Web and social media based activities
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preferences
Are boarding facilities available?	No
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs 500 to Rs.1000 per day
Approximate living expenses	Rs 500 per day
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	14 kilometers from Thiruvananthapuram city center. Frequent bus services available (Public transport facility). Travel time around 30 minutes
Additional comments, if any.	The interns should have interest to work among stigmatized and discriminated section of the society.

	Jamghat- A group of street children
Name of the Project	Jamghat- A group of street children
Location: State	New Delhi
Location: Detailed	Delhi
Available time of internship	We would prefer to have interns throughout the year
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	We would like to have interns to help our children in studies, sports and extra-circular activities. It would be a great platform for the interns to have interactive sessions with the children. Management activities such as documentation work, helping in preparing the newsletter and reports. Teaching the children such as English and Maths.
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	No
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs.10,000 – Rs.20,000 per month
Approximate living expenses	Rs.25,000 – Rs.30,000 per month
Is there access to medical facilities?	No
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Yes the interns would travel between the homes, and the day care center which is situated in Old Delhi. One could access the metro rail. The distance between the homes is 15 mins by auto.
Additional comments, if any.	There isn’t any such issue, but one would have to use auto rickshaws and metro train. The office where the girls home is also situated is very close to the metro station and the boys home is a 10 min drive. The Day care center is situated in the Old Delhi area, which the intern could use the metro and then take a rickshaw.

	Prayas/Pratirodh
Name of the Project	Prayas/Pratirodh
Location: State	Rajasthan
Location: Detailed	Amarpura/Bhadesar/Chittorgarh
Available time of internship	Any time of the year
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	Management activities such as documentation work, helping in preparing the newsletter and reports. Teaching the children such as English and Maths.
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	Female
Are boarding facilities available?	No
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs. 2,000
Approximate living expenses	Rs. 2,000
Is there access to medical facilities?	No
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	Yes. Around 50% time in travel.
Additional comments, if any.

	Asha Mumbai
Name of the Project	Asha Mumbai
Location: State	Maharashtra
Location: Detailed	Powaii, Mumbai
Available time of internship	Throughout the year
Available duration of internship	3 weeks – 3 months and longer
Intern responsibilities	In-room teaching, surveys, data analysis, change management activities
Does the project deal with any gender sensitive issues?	Yes
Preferred age and gender of intern	No preference
Are boarding facilities available?	No
Approximate boarding expenses	Rs.5000 per month
Approximate living expenses	Rs.5000 per month
Is there access to medical facilities?	Yes
Is there access to internet and phone?	Yes
Will there be travel involved for the intern?	No
Additional comments, if any.