Program Reviews

Words can’t describe how much I’ve not only learned but how much I’ve enjoyed myself doing something I love while contributing to something much bigger than myself by interning at Tribes for Good. Thank you to Mandeep and Kashyap for giving me the opportunity to enact positive social change while learning so much about a community I care so much about. This definitely won’t be the last time I will work at TFG and I am definitely looking forward to hopefully working and maybe having a bigger role at TFG for a longer duration, for sure! As a TribesforGOOD intern, I visited various suburbs of Mumbai to collect stories of change in Dharavi (showcasing enterprise and business), Malwani (a slum in Malad) and Bandra and worked on various themes related to Business/Tourism, Women & Livelihood, Adolescents and Street kids for Aftertaste, Bethelocal, The Gender Lab, Angel Xpress. To express these stores, I produced high-impact visual narratives that fuel awareness and inspire action, in which my focus was to capture the essence of the cause in a manner that represents the mission or vision of the organization through visual media - to create a consistent visual identity in the form of videos that will be used to garner attention and awareness.

I’ve been pursuing my Undergraduate degree from Pune University, India. Given my course is in Information Technology & I’ve been studying about it for 5 years now, I usually have a few hours every week that can be used for volunteering for organisations supporting livelihood for women.

I was looking for internships that were available & stumbled upon TribesforGOOD’s Social Media & Brand Strategist Internship.
It looked like a unique opportunity to me as it was about making a lasting impact on the communities that I shall be working with through this internship. And also, cause I could work remotely from my home.

After applying for it, the founder Mandeep got in touch with me to understand what I was looking to giveback through this internship which was a unique take for me as most of the positions I had applied earlier asked me what I wanted to gain from the internship.
So it wasn’t just about me but about the beneficiaries too.

I worked as a content creator & writer for a period of 4-weeks with TribesforGOOD & loved the work I had to do. Through my work at TribesforGOOD I was able to learn a lot of skills in terms of social media & got insights into the social enterprise space.

Now I truly dream to apply this knowledge & become a social entrepreneur myself.

I was in my gap year and was looking to travel & volunteer. I’d known from my circles that choosing a volunteer program is tricky as I need to ensure that my impact reaches to communities.

After a meticulous research for a week I came across TribesforGOOD’s Summer Internship program. It was a 3 week program operating out of a co-working space in Mumbai. This struck cords with me as it not only provided a chance to volunteer but also work with 3 different enterprises one in travel, second in education and third in women empowerment.

After reaching in Mumbai, I took an accommodation in a hostel near to our office and met my mentor for an Induction about social enterprises in India & Health & Safety briefing that proved to be a boon in the weeks to come.

Over the course of 3-weeks, I got an opportunity to work on multiple projects such as research projects, online fundraising, social media marketing, etc. Each with a different enterprises & focus on various sectors viz.
-Women empowerment & livelihood
-Education
-Climate
-Clean Energy
-Urban poverty

The best part about the program was the on-field visits where I met the actual beneficiaries of the program I was working on & could see how I’d be making a difference. During the off-days we went on to explore the hidden treasures of the city of Mumbai: city-walks, cafe’s a couple of touristy locations as well.

Reflecting back on what I gained through this program I’d say the philosophy of learning by doing stuck with me and helped me develop a global outlook when it comes to innovations and bring about lasting change.

Being a 17 year old kid I am always wanting to contribute my part to the most pressing issues of our society. But my efforts usually fall short as I have no clear vision on where to begin.
I figured the best way to start is apply for internships, gain new skills & then look for relevant sectors to help out. Here’s the interesting part, to work as an intern you need to have relevant skills already. Another day, another setback. But this time I decided to turn the tables.

That is how I enrolled for the Young changemakers program of TribesforGOOD. It was a 3 month virtual internship program with a focus on hands-on experience & helping youngsters like me be ready for the world.It was centered around sectors & skills that I wanted to learn about & explore. Since, I wanted to focus on Women empowerment & livelihood I chose that as my potential project.

I was very well introduced to the social impact space and given a few insights on the project I chose to help me come forward with a design plan.
During the first 2 weeks we had a weekly discussion session on the research I conducted & my mentor would give me feedback & resources to work upon.

By the time we entered the fourth week I had a pretty clear idea of what was I working on and could now start understanding the problems of underprivileged women in Mumbai to design possible solutions for it.

By the end of this program TribesforGOOD & I were able to help me develop an
ability to think like an entrepreneur and consider issues from a variety of perspectives & learnt to use my skills effectively & work in a complex environment. The solutions I recommended to tackle Poverty are being considered as an actual setup which felt great.

I was definitely able to achieve my goal of interning, gaining new skills and working for the upliftment of communities around me.This program really helped me gain a perspective of the outside world apart from classroom learning & provided me a confidence boost that with the right amount of dedication your age doesn’t matter in creating an impact.

Young Changemakers Program -

I enrolled with TribesforGOOD for a 3 month virtual internship program called the Young Changemakers program. Since, I have been pursuing a full time undergrad program visiting India was not possible. TribesforGOOD solved this problem by offering me a solution to work remotely.

The program had a combination of workshops, curated readings, training and hands on experience working closely with organisations (education,gender,etc.) in India.
A meticulous planning was firstly done through one-to-one mentor-ship session to design an action plan according to my interests & skills. Next part was to work on Design Thinking & implementing my Action plan.
The Action Plan I chose to work on - Poverty alleviation.
Throughout the internship, I had a facilitator from TribesforGOOD to help with the designing of solutions & to clear my queries.

By the end of this program TribesforGOOD & I were able to help me develop an
ability to think like an entrepreneur and consider issues from a variety of perspectives, learning to use my skills effectively & work in a complex environment.
The solutions I recommended to tackle Poverty were implemented in an actual setup which felt great to me.

I’d recommend this program to anyone planning their travel to India or looking to contribute remotely!

I worked with TribesforGOOD on an internship that focused on women empowerment and provide livelihood opportunities. I have always been passionate about social enterprises and giving back. This opportunity was perfect for me. I enrolled into the 3- week social media strategist internship with a focus on design, innovative thinking & executing strategies. I am a third year student so it is difficult for me to travel. TribesforGOOD was able to solve this issue by offering me a remote internship.

Throughout the internship, I had a facilitator from TribesforGOOD. The first few days were training to get a deeper understanding of the organisation and the project assigned to me. The team ensured that they were available despite the time zone differences. We had
Weekly discussions/calls to track & assist with the progress. I felt I had contributed well and made an impact. Looking forward to the next semester when I get a chance to work with them again on climate change.

Working with Mandeep at Tribes for GOOD and learning about various other social enterprises and organizations in India has been nothing short of amazing. I did this internship remotely yet I always felt guided by Mandeep. She was always available for me ask questions and for her to thoroughly answer them. I had the opportunity to learn more about different social enterprise business models and to understand how different organizations function. I was able to sharpen my writing and content skills and understand what customers are looking for on a website. I can only imagine what more I would have learnt if I was actually in India! This is truly a wonderful opportunity to gain new skills, assist awesome organizations doing amazing work and to be exposed to a new and different culture!

I had a 2 month internship in Business Development at TribesForGOOD. It was a meticulously planned internship where my mentor sat down with me to identify my skillset, understand the goals for this job and prepare an execution model based on the market trends and culture.

All in all it was a great experience with Mandeep always being there to help you out and almost always ready to hear out your ideas and suggestions.
Moreover, it helped me understand how Social Impact Journeys are need of the our as they really help build a bridge between the tourists and the locals thereby, increasing tourism, economy for the locals, a sense of responsibility towards the culture and heritage of country/place you're traveling to, etc.

I'd recommend TribesForGOOD to anyone whose looking to either understand Ecological Tourism or wanting a chance to be a part of an industry which is more than mere profits and is always on a lookout for ways to GIVE BACK to the society .

It's a social enterprise that encourages it's team to get involved in the very sector they are working for. We used to research on the current scene in the industry, future trends and have discussions about topics ranging for Workplace to Deep Sea diving .
An organization that believes in the Power of Ideas and Individuals.

After stumbling upon the TribesforGood website during a google search about what to do during my gap year that would improve my CV and help me make a difference in the world, or at least teach me about how to, I didn't know what exactly to expect. Sure, the website is very descriptive and breaks down the journey piece by piece, by as an Australian, India belongs to the large group of countries that seem worlds away. The team was very patient with me and guided me throughout it all, from the first day after my registration, until after I had arrived back home in Sydney. Was it intimidating? yes! Where there moments I felt overwhelmed by the new foreign environment packed with different traditions, cultures, and beliefs? Initially, yes!
It is only on my second day here, where with the guidance of the TribesforGood team that I was able to begin relaxing and truly feel comfortable. The team was well organized and ensured that I never felt stranded, lost or out of place. They answered all of my questions to the best of their ability and occasionally, through their workshops and answers, pushed me, too, to consider various new aspects and solutions to the problems I was introduced to in the Indian Social Space. I recommend this journey to anyone who wants to learn more about India, but in a new sustainable way! I know for sure that I won't begin working in the Indian Social Space as I would miss home too much, but I've been introduced to new ways of giving back including remote volunteering… something I've taken up in my free time and find, not only enjoyable but very rewarding. All in all, I couldn't be happy that my, what once began as, a relatively aimless google search resulted in a life-changing and enlightening week in India's amazing city Mumbai, where I learned, was challenged and grew.

The planning that went into the journey was what impressed me the most apart from the great experience I had . Every day was scheduled precisely starting with a session of Meditation and Yoga to prep us for the day ahead, the day would have a lot of activities, meet ups, field trips planned keeping in mind minimum time consumption in travel so we could have more time interacting with schools,entrepreneurs and people rather than sitting in a bus with my headphones on.