Ben Atkinson

Ben Atkinson

Like my colleagues, I came to 2Way Development initially to do a placement overseas - for me, this was after graduating with a degree in International Development in 2010. I knew that I needed to get some practical overseas experience, and felt that 2Way Development was an excellent way of achieving this. Initially, I was offered placements in India, Africa and Latin America, but settled on India, and am very glad that I did.

Volunteering experience

I started my 2Way Development placement with Shaishav in May 2011. Shaishav are a child rights NGO working in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, with a strong focus on child participation. My work with Shaishav has included liaising with donors, preparing funding proposals and progress reports, documentation of Shaishav’s programmes, and research and analysis of the state of children in Bhavnagar. The work has been demanding but very satisfying, and has provided me with a great deal of skills that are vital for working in the development sector. In addition to my work with Shaishav, I began working as 2Way Development’s India Country Representative in August 2011. This role involved creating new partnerships between 2Way Development and grassroots NGOs operating across India. This gave me the opportunity to visit many fantastic organisations working all over India.