An Intern's Perspective: My Time at Apna Ghar

I remember when I found AG’s Executive Director Serena Low’s email in my inbox asking to speak to me on the phone about a summer internship. It was March, and I was gearing up for finals, a campaign for Class Council president, and my trip back home to Chicago after an adventure-filled sophomore year at The George Washington University. Summer swiftly approaching, I was eager to have my summer plans figured out. Being from a small suburb, there was never much to do at home but watch Netflix until my eyes drained from my skull and read books of different of characters making a true difference in their worlds of 400 pages.

400 pages were all it took. A character could break away from her ordinary life, strive to be something greater, and end up showing her entire society what it means to be a hero. She could be Emma Woodhouse, Jane Eyre, or my personal favorite, Hermione Granger. The pages of these books were filled with struggle and adventure, something I thought I knew little about. I truly believed that in order to be great, you had to accomplish a feat that would change the course of a society. Small acts didn’t cut it.

My time at Apna Ghar has taught me that there is so much more to strength, bravery, and independence than what I knew. From the bubbly and outgoing legal advocates to the sweet and caring counselors, each and every individual on the Apna Ghar staff excels in their department professionally and flourish even more as kind and genuine people. What I have learned is that working in non-profits takes dedication and big heart, true signs of today’s heroes. During my four months here, I’m sure that there were more than 400 small acts carried out by these wonderful staff members. Each act made a difference in the lives of survivors of domestic violence and changed their path for the better.

I would sincerely like to thank the Apna Ghar staff for welcoming me with open arms and becoming more than co-workers. You are all friends I will never forget!

This post was written by Kulsoom Jafri.

Kulsoom is a junior studying Political Communication and Philosophy at The George Washington University and was a summer intern and volunteer at Apna Ghar