Just two years since it was founded, Bhumi, an undergraduate organization dedicated to international development and environmental issues, has developed a coherent program to send students on summer internships around the world.

This summer, 10 students are scheduled to work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Peru, and organizers hope that the program will expand in future years.

According to Bhumi officer Cheryl A. Gray '99, about 35 students applied for the 10 internship spots available this year.

The limited number of spots was due to the difficulty finding NGOs that suited Bhumi's goals and needs.

"We were looking for opportunities for meaningful internships that would be mutually beneficial for the NGO and our interns, where there would be a good match of skills," Gray says.

Bhumi interns will participate in field research, environmental work, campaigning, teaching and other administrative tasks in four developing nations this summer.

Learning From Experience

The organization's goals, as well as concerns over safety and reliability issues, have led Bhumi to be selective of the organizations to which it sends interns.

"Our main criterion is that we have established a close personal relationship with the NGO and have been in contact with someone who would be managing the internship," Gray says.

In many cases, this means dealing with organizations with which Bhumi members have worked in the past.

Alina Das '01 will be working with Phulki, an NGO in Dhaka, Bangladesh through which Bhumi ran a child sponsorship program last year.

"They run child-care centers for working mothers, to keep kids off the street," Das says. "I would be helping out by evaluating their program, seeing how they can improve their finances and strategy for the future."

Lauren A. Hammer '98 and Aditi Bagchi '99 will both be working with the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC), centered in New Delhi, India.

According to its web page, SAHRDC "seeks to investigate, document and disseminate information about human rights treaties and conventions, human rights education, refugees, media freedom, prison reforms, political imprisonment, torture, summary executions, disappearances and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."

Hammer will be researching human rights abuses against women during armed conflicts in South Asia, while Bagchi hopes to work in Calcutta with "street children" or refugees.