Goa, like never before: A social Immersion Story.

During our SIP orientation, I vividly recall our SIP Chair Zenia Nanra underlining a crucial point i.e., our mission for this curriculum extended beyond the pursuit of immediate impact during our student tenure. Instead, it aimed to cultivate a lasting influence that would continue to resonate as we progressed to more privileged circumstances.

On June 25th, a unique cohort of 14 students embarked on a journey to Goa, distinct from the usual pursuits of their peers. Their objective was to orchestrate an exceptional scenario where they were to champion a noble cause. This 10-day expedition unfolded as an extraordinary journey, etching an indelible mark in our hearts and minds.

Let me take you through our journey through the STAR format.

Situation:

Our mission was to assess the sanitation and cleanliness of North Goa's beaches, with our partners the I Help Foundation.

We embarked to find the “4 W’s” of our project, i.e.,

1.????? What is the Current Situation of the Beaches in Goa?

2.????? Who is responsible for cleaning them?

3.????? Why is the current situation like this?

4.????? What can we do to improve the situation?

The project aimed to go beyond immediate impact and create lasting change.

Task:

Our problem statement had many issues included, and the way ahead was to divide the entire journey into smaller achievable tasks, which included:

1. Evaluating Beach Cleanliness: to understand the current situation of the beaches

2. Analyzing Sanitation Facilities: to identify the people involved in the field and recognize their conditions, problems, and struggles.

3. Identifying Environmental Impact: to connect human actions to the current situation and the dynamics of this impact.

4. Engaging with Authorities: to interact with those who are actually responsible and involved in this entire situation.

5. Proposing Recommendations for Improvement: based on our understanding, assessment, and experience we proposed solutions to the NGO, on what could be done better and in a more efficient, organized manner.

Additionally, we conducted a situation analysis using the SWOT Analysis and the 5Cs of the Marketing framework to understand the nonprofit context and the factors affecting the I Help Foundation's operations.

Action:

We proposed several solution alternatives after conducting a TEV (Technical, Economic, Viability) analysis:

1. Improved social media maintenance.

2. Appointing a prominent figure as the face of the NGO.

3. Seeking collaborations with casinos and government entities.

4. Developing a loyal community around the NGO.

5. Carefully planning and executing impactful events.

Despite facing challenges such as adverse weather, navigation difficulties, self-sponsored expenses, authority barriers, and worker resistance, we continued our mission and engaged with relevant stakeholders to gather valuable insights.

Result:

The project resulted in a comprehensive assessment of beach sanitation, actionable recommendations for the IHelp Foundation, and a deeper understanding of the nonprofit's operating environment. While challenges persisted, our determination allowed us to overcome them and contribute positively to the cause of beach hygiene and environmental stewardship in Goa.

We did not only stop at suggesting the solutions to the organization but also ran their social media handle on Instagram for a couple of months, to increase their reach and expand their organization, which would be helpful for their upcoming events.

The following are their changed metrics, after our intervention:

?????? Reach: 852

?????? Impressions: 1,906

?????? Engaged accounts: 71.

?????? Followers: 100

?????? Growth: +49.2%

To conclude, just as to understand something, we need to completely set ourselves in that situation, similarly, we immersed ourselves in this social cause for 10 days, and the impact it has left is ever so lasting.

Other Images from our Visit:

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