Meet Our New Intern Durga from Japan!

We’re excited to welcome Durga Mohanakrishnan, a Rotary Peace Fellow from Japan, as our newest intern at Vanni Hope. Over the coming months, Durga will be actively involved in all areas of our work, from project monitoring and strategic planning to on-the-ground fieldwork and partnership development. With a strong background in humanitarian coordination, peacebuilding, and development, she brings valuable expertise to our team and mission.

A Fellowship with Purpose

Durga’s internship, which began last month, forms an integral part of her Rotary Peace Fellowship, a prestigious global program that supports emerging leaders committed to peace and development. As part of her postgraduate studies in Peace Studies at the International Christian University in Tokyo, the fellowship includes a dedicated fieldwork placement. This enables fellows to engage directly with communities, apply conflict-sensitive approaches, and contribute to local initiatives that align with their values.

At Vanni Hope, Durga is using this opportunity to deepen her understanding of community-led development in post-conflict settings. Her focus areas include project monitoring, strategic planning, partnership development, and supporting program implementation in areas such as women’s empowerment, education, and emergency response.

Global Experience, Local Impact

Durga brings a wide range of experience in rural development, disaster management, and humanitarian response. Originally from Kerala, India, she has worked across government and non-government sectors for over half a decade. Her early career included key roles with the Gujarat Government under the National Rurban Mission, the State Rural Livelihood Mission in West Bengal, and the Swaniti Initiative in Telangana, where she focused on village electrification, project implementation, and community mobilisation.

Her work gained further depth following the 2018 Kerala floods, when she joined Goonj, one of India’s most respected NGOs. During her four years there, Durga led critical relief and rehabilitation efforts, helping rebuild over 100 flood-affected schools and deliver sustainable livelihood solutions to displaced communities. This experience strengthened her ability to respond to crisis while maintaining a long-term development focus.

Durga was later awarded the prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Her project, hosted by the German Committee for Disaster Reduction (DKKV) in Bonn, examined disaster preparedness in India and Germany through a comparative study of the 2018 and 2021 floods. She also completed the Women in Conflict Fellowship in Scotland, exploring how gender, climate, and peace intersect in fragile contexts. Most recently, she served as a consultant with Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe in Germany, contributing to their flood preparedness programming.

Supporting Vanni Hope’s Mission

Since joining us, Durga has travelled alongside our Chairman Mr. Ranjan and Director Dr. Malathi Waran to observe Vanni Hope’s projects across Sri Lanka. She has been exposed to each of our key program areas, from education and health to women’s empowerment, livelihoods, emergency response, and community development.

She has made meaningful contributions to several activities, including engaging with Women’s Rural Development Societies, attending field visits for housing and water projects, and supporting the rollout of smart classroom initiatives. Her ability to connect with communities, listen with empathy, and offer practical insights has already helped us strengthen our work on the ground.

Looking Ahead

In the months ahead, Durga will continue to support our operations while refining key outputs such as project assessments and strategic frameworks. Her work will not only strengthen our internal capacity but also guide how we expand our reach. Whether through co-designing projects or improving how we monitor long-term outcomes, Durga’s time with Vanni Hope will leave a lasting footprint on both our systems and our team.

We are proud to support Durga’s fellowship journey and grateful for her incredible contributions so far. Her presence reflects what’s possible when global partnerships meet local action, and we are confident her time with us will continue to create ripples far beyond these few months.