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Hear from our interns


Water, charity and what we have learned

During their time as WaterHarvest interns over the last few months, Robert Tucker and Molly Joyce have learned a great deal about the work of the charity and the transformative impact of clean water. Here, they discuss their experience and the knowledge they have gained at WaterHarvest.

Robert:

Water is an essential part of life, but the average British person probably doesn’t consider the possibility of being unable to have access to it easily. Through creating and managing blog posts for WaterHarvest, I have gained an insight into the valuable work conducted by the charity and have learnt much about the struggles of collecting water faced by so many people every single day. Notably, I have learned that the work of charities like WaterHarvest is not simply about throwing money at an area like Rajasthan: instead, WaterHarvest is keen to utilise the knowledge and experience of locals to tailor water management solutions for them specifically.

Furthermore, it maintains contact with beneficiaries in Rajasthan, to ensure they are getting the maximum benefit from the solutions for years to come. As a result, WaterHarvest offers a surprising number of different solutions to the water crisis, and I have enjoyed learning about them – as well as seeing so many stunning pictures from a beautiful part of the world. Most of all, it has been eye-opening to realise what a precious resource water is to so many, and I hope that WaterHarvest can continue its inspiring work in ensuring that all people have access to it in the future.

Molly:

Working at WaterHarvest as a Marketing and Communications Intern for the past 4 months, I have developed my skills in copywriting and negotiating social media. However, I have also been educated on the issue of clean water and sustainability. Whilst I (like much of the UK) take clean water for granted, it is, unfortunately, still not as accessible as it should be. Working at WaterHarvest – and especially having to research the issue of clean water for social media – has opened my eyes to the importance of such charities. It was interesting to see how small the team at WaterHarvest actually is, given that before joining, I expected a successful charity to be a much larger organisation. However, the team at WaterHarvest are dedicated and motivated and I’ve loved working with them.

Overall, I not only learned about the importance of sustainability in charity work, but particularly about the importance of working towards a clean water source for everyone. Working at WaterHarvest has opened my eyes to how accessing clean water is not just a health issue but a social issue. Clean water allows women and girls to access both the education system and the workplace, and this is the WaterHarvest work that I have found the most rewarding.

Southampton University’s Excel Internship Programme

Robert and Molly were working with WaterHarvest as part of the Southampton University Excel Internship Programme. We have been working with the university now since 2015 and have hosted more than 6 students on either a term time basis or during the summer period. As Nicola Floyd, WaterHarvest’s CEO adds “we have been so lucky to work with such dedicated and talented students. As a small charity, we really appreciate help from volunteers and interns to help enhance areas that need it the most. Both Robert and Molly were able to work on our digital marketing, an area with huge influence today.”

Thank you Robert, Molly and Southampton University.

This week’s blog was written by Robert Tucker and Molly Joyce on 22nd July 2019.

About Robert: Robert was an intern at WaterHarvest and is now a History graduate from the University of Southamptoncongratulations!

About Molly: Molly was an intern at WaterHarvest and is now an English Literature graduate from the University of Southampton – congratulations!

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