I want to begin by thankingÌýMr. BrownÌýfor his generous support of my internship at Machik. Without the funding provided by the Susan Casey Brown Fund for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ International Experience Awards, I would not have been able to spend the summer building my skills and knowledge in the nonprofit sector, with a focus on Tibet.
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Machik is a Tibetan women-led nonprofit based in Washington D.C., committed to growing a global community for Tibet. They develop new opportunities for social innovation, gender equity and civic engagement. This summer, I supported Machik’s work as a Program Intern.
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My daily tasks were varied and enriching. As a member of a small, tight-knit team, I gained hands-on experience in program development, coordination and implementation. I conducted short research projects on contemporary issues in Tibet and the diaspora. I developed my skills in content writing and web design. I know that these new capacities will prove to be vital assets in the age of digital work. I gained key insights into the daily experience of working at a nonprofit. I left my internship with a deeper understanding of Tibet and with a keen desire to continue expanding my knowledge.
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During my internship, I was exposed to a diversity of perspectives on contemporary realities in Tibet. The highlights of my internship were moments in which my understanding of this place, which I have learned about and been an advocate of for years, radically shifted. One such moment was during this July’s Khabda (Tibetan: informal conversation or chat). Machik’s Khabda program builds bridges between Tibet and the global community by highlighting a piece of art, music, poetry or other media created by a Tibetan living inside Tibet. In July, we convened a series of conversations on the resettlement of drokpas (Tib.: nomadic pastoralists) using Tsering Dondrup’s short story Valley of the Black Foxes as a focal point. Not only did my understanding of the realities of drokpa life in Tibet grow, but through conversation with other land dispossessed Indigenous peoples, I learned more about displacement as a colonial project across the world.
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My internship with Machik has simultaneously focused and broadened my lines of inquiry about Tibet. I look ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ to continuing to explore the questions that arose during my internship in the process of writing and researching a paper on territoriality and land use practice in drokpa communities this semester, as part of the HIST 499: Internship course. In the future, I aspire to continue to work for organizations like Machik. I am committed to building bright futures for Tibet and fostering bridge building between Tibet and the world. This internship serves as a steppingstone to further opportunities in the Tibetan nonprofit landscape.
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My internship at Machik would not have been possible without Mr. Brown'sÌýgenerosity. As an unpaid intern, I used the funds I have received through the Susan Casey Brown Fund for ±«ÓãÖ±²¥, ±«ÓãÖ±²¥ International Experience Awards, to cover basic costs such as groceries and rent. Many thanks for supporting this opportunity to pursue deeper knowledge and gain meaningful experience in my field.
