Intern spotlight: Rukhsar Balkhi

One of the best experiences of my life! This Summer of 2022, joining Bond Street Theater was one of the best opportunities and decisions I have ever made. The year of 2021 was a tough one for most of us and it somehow pressured us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But, spending two months with the Bond Street Theatre team was so healing for me. Maihan (my friend and fellow student) and I had an amazing time with the BST leadership team, and extremely understanding and supportive colleagues in the BST Youth Council. I am a senior student majoring in Human Rights in Bard College, I have been working in many NGOs, INGOs and at the US Embassy back in my home country, Afghanistan. I founded my own organization named Women Empowerment and Growth Organization. While applying for an internship at BST I was really excited to start my work because I had a deep relationship with NGOs and their work, especially NGOs working for women, children and youth. I believe that combining the arts and human rights will be a great idea for my senior project. I learned how useful theatre can be for conflict resolution, empathy, understanding, awareness, tolerance, trust building and mental health. I had the opportunity to do research on social justice issues related to my major Human Rights, in many countries like Kenya, Kazakhstan, Africa. I have got to know so many things about new countries I barely knew. It helped me to have a better understanding of different countries and how art can be a solution for many pains and issues. During my internship I saw many programs, pictures, videos which were taken in my home country Afghanistan and I can truly feel the connection and understood how much positive effect it had on those youths, women and children of a war and conflicted country. I believe BST implemented programs which feed the soul. I had an amazing time with Joanna and Micheal in the office. I met Tim and Sidonie from the BST Youth Council in person, and luckily in the first meeting we felt like we have known each other for years - that is what makes BST and our team different and unique because it makes you feel at home. I met the rest of the members online and am looking forward to meeting them in person soon. This will be a lifetime experience and a great network with who I want to and will be in contact forever. I hope to be a part of BST always and I feel a deep connection with the organization and its members. Working at BST as an intern was more than an internship for me, I learned a lot more than my expectations. I will try my best to be part of future projects which changes people’s lives for the better. I wish I had all of this knowledge and experience, gained in the past two months at BST, beforehand. That way, I would have been more successful in 2019 when I founded Women’s EGO… even with choosing the name of my organization! But, certainly it will help me in the future as I feel that the dream of working for Women and Youth in Afghanistan was put on hold - but it surely will come true here in the US through BST.