When Everyone Asked Me Why

Clarence Faye Salvador

Everyone in my family was thrilled when they found out that an internship program was part of my college’s curriculum. They were intrigued at the kind of internship programs that are available to political science students other than working in a law firm. Our practicum professor gave us a list of institutions where we can take our internship. To my and my family’s surprise, law offices or the legal department of companies are not in the list. Instead, the exclusive list of institutions we can work in included the Congress, research institutions, international and local political organizations, government offices, and non-government organizations (NGOs). It took a while for me to decide on where to take my summer internship. I researched on every institution in the list and trimmed it down to my final three choices, all of which are NGOs. I honestly had no idea at that time about the kind of work environment I was going into, or what to expect from it. All I knew was that I wanted to experience working in an NGO since I could not picture myself working in such institution after graduation.

My decision to join an NGO for my internship was met with raised eyebrows by my family. My mother, having a little background on NGO work dissuaded me by saying that I would be working in a small office with tons of work, with little added-value to my resume. My father and my aunts agreed with my mom and insisted that I work in the Congress because it would look nicer in my resume. When I shared my internship plans with my classmates they also disapproved of it because they were worried about my safety and the possibility that I would get influenced by the perceived leftist ideas of NGOs. All told, my decision to do my internship in an NGO was met with stiff resistance by my family and friends and was always met with the big question “WHY CHOOSE AN NGO?”

But, I stood by my decision and told them that it was just an internship program so they did not have to worry, I just wanted to have a glimpse of what it would be like to be in the world of social development and volunteerism. I had no hidden agenda; all I knew was that I wanted to give it a try. Fortunately for me, I got accepted at the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) and was assigned to the Sustaining Participatory Local Governance (SPLG) Project as a Data Processor.

My mom was right when she told me that I would be working in a small office with a huge work load. But, I did not mind the back-to-back meetings, endless to-do lists, and countless overtimes because I realized that the projects we were working on would be a big help not only to the organization but to the country as well. The projects are not meant to earn profits for the organization but are intended to benefit the communities that they serve. In other words, it is the kind of work that results in self-fulfillment because you know that you are working not for yourself but for others.

This does not mean that there are no personal perks of working in an NGO. In fact, one of the perks is the chance to travel all over the country, and sometimes overseas. I was given that opportunity during my internship when my supervisor tagged me along whenever she would have a meeting outside the office. I was thrilled when I was asked to accompany her to meet with a partner organization in Binan, Laguna. Sure, it was not that far, but at least I had the chance to experience doing fieldwork during my internship rather than be in the office all the time as what other interns experienced.

My internship at CODE-NGO even gave me a bonus perk when I was tasked to cover a writing workshop seminar that it plans to offer every summer to young writers who have a passion in volunteerism. While doing this assignment, I had the chance to rediscover my writing skills, meet various people who are well known in media, like Zak Yuson of Rappler and Tina Dumlao of Philippine Daily Inquirer, and expand my circle of friends.

My internship was supposed to end last May. But due to the calendar shift in our school, and since I pretty much enjoyed working in an NGO, I came back to CODE-NGO to be a volunteer up until the start of the academic year. I still work as a data processor with the same department, and our team in currently busy preparing for two national congresses, one for the FOI Youth Initiative and another for the institution’s member networks.

Looking back at my internship with CODE-NGO, I thank God that I persisted in my decision to intern in an NGO. As I compare my internship experiences with my other classmates and batchmates, I realized that I made the right decision in choosing to work for an NGO. I am blessed to have worked in CODE-NGO because it gave me more than what I wanted and expected from my internship. I never imagined myself working in an NGO someday, yet here I am now, strongly thinking of how to become part of one after I graduate from college. I never thought that a simple summer internship would turn out to be a passionate love and desire for volunteerism and social work. Should I decide to pursue a career in the NGO world, I think I will face the same stiff resistance from my family and friends. But unlike before when I did not know how to answer the question “WHY CHOOSE AN NGO?” I guess this time I will have a simple and ready answer: “Why not?”

Clarence Faye Salvador is a senior Political Science student at University of Santo Tomas. She prefers to spend her money on foodtrips, leisure, travel and watching musical plays.