Hey everyone! I’m Valentina, a second-year Communication Science student who’s almost finished her amazing 5-month internship. This semester, I’ve been interning at HealthNet TPO, an international NGO based in the Netherlands with a rich and inspiring history.
Working at an NGO has been a life-changing experience for me. It not only opened my eyes to how these organizations operate on a daily basis but also highlighted the significant constraints and challenges they often face.
As a communication and digital marketing intern for HealthNet TPO, I have significantly enhanced my accuracy and attention to details. Managing the social media accounts and writing articles for the website requires meticulous attention not only to the choice of words but also to the tone used and the picture selected. This experience has taught me the importance of these elements in effectively communicating the organization’s message.
After at least one month of preparation and feedback from my supervisor, I began to understand how things work and the various people and factors to consider when publishing even a simple sentence on HealthNet TPO’s social media or website.
It is crucial for an NGO to maintain an objective, non-victimizing tone and be mindful of the countries it writes about. For example, working in Afghanistan imposes significant restrictions on what can and cannot be said. Over time, I learned to be more careful in reporting facts about that country, ensuring I did not indirectly blame anyone for the region’s lack of healthcare services or environmental disasters.
Understanding what can and cannot be said really impressed me, making me realize the responsibilities and level of credibility that NGOs must maintain with various key stakeholders, such as current and future donors, project partners, the board of directors and local governments.
Writing for this type of organization made me aware of the many different ways to discuss the same topic and which approaches are more appropriate in different environments. This sparked a passion in me for this kind of reporting, which is more straightforward and objective but always aims to persuade potential donors. This requires a type of creativity I had never experienced before.
I will never forget my supervisor’s words at the beginning of the internship when she corrected my early drafts and said, “Remember, we’re not here to do journalism.” This sentence has stayed with me every time I wrote something, helping me to expand my writing skills and objectivity—skills that I believe will greatly benefit my future academic and professional goals.