Swami Vivekananda’s message to “Be good and Do Good” is the premise of Disha Bharat’s internship program. In addition to providing interns with a platform to delve deeper the three pillars of self, country and culture, Disha Bharat’s 15 day internship program provides interns exposure to the realities of the world and the opportunity for “Seva activities.
The internships comprise two parts:
- Classroom sessions to understand the notion, spirit and importance of compassion and Seva, followed by reflection at the end of the day. This provides the context to “Be Good”.
- The “Do Good” element of the internship takes the form of community projects to which interns are assigned.
- Some of the projects undertaken in the past include:
- Cleanliness drive
- Mentoring children in Government schools
- Visit to orphanage, old age home, slums
- Interaction with achievers:
- Designing Posters on socially relevant issues
These activities are followed by reflective assignments, group discussions and debates. At the end of the internship, students share their experiences and take-aways. Many participants have described their internship as “a life-changing experience”. These projects are game-changers in that on the one hand, they expose interns to the harsh realities of life. On the other hand, the process of offering Seva reinforces in the interns a set of values such as empathy, compassion, gratitude, respect, honesty, collaboration and courage. These are all not just critical values to lead life but are also the hallmarks of leadership. Students who complete the Disha Bharat internship emerge as proud torchbearers of the message “Know yourself, Know Your Country, Know your culture”- and thus readies them to contribute meaningfully to building our nation and taking it to even greater heights.