10 Types Of People I Met In My NGO

by Swati Saxena | Jul 25, 2017

I spent half of my fellowship year in the back office, which is in a residential colony of Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Since it is known to be a women’s organization, the employee sex ratio is slightly skewed in our favor. But, irrespective of them being male or female, each one is of a different kind. Here’s how I would categorize them, all in good humor and slight exaggeration:

Over Enthusiastic
These are people who usually work on field and like it there. But, they become restless when made to sit in one place. So, they beat the table, hop from one chair to another, talk as much as they can and even sing on top of their voice. Warning: They ask a lot of terrible questions and often, the unsaid answer is “Shut Up”.
Gossip Monger
They are on good terms with everyone because they need to know what’s going on in each one’s life. They are also part-time secret agents and have super-powers to make you spill everything you thought you will never say. Tip: Don’t mess with them.
Slower than a Snail
Explain them something, repeat it 6 times and the moment you’re done, they’ll ask, “What did you just say?” The main challenge is that face-palms and hitting them is not allowed. So, you have to call this friend, ‘Patience’ who is mostly free and shows up.
Miss Know-it-all
They give free advice 24*7, on a variety of topics including what do I eat, what should I be doing instead of the fellowship, when would it be best for me to have a baby and where to invest my money. All without asking. Plus, they get resentful when I don’t follow the advice. Amazing, right?
Miss Clueless
They have no idea what they’re doing here and they don’t understand the technicalities too well. To cover that up, they keep asking others about the kind of work everyone does, their personal lives and interests. Extremely fun people outside but don’t fit here.
The Taskmaster

If you ask me, this one can even put a dead body to use. I appreciate their leadership skills and sense of delegation but it scares me when they’re being nice because that often means shit loads of work coming my way. The only warning you need is that no warning can save you from them!
Lazy L(ass)

Ask them something to do and forget about it. Chances are, while you’ll be thinking your assigned work is getting done, they’d be taking a nap in a corner. Wake them up, remind to complete the task and they will tell stories of how they got tired, after writing 7 long lines.
Forever Annoyed
If you haven’t already figured it out, that’s me!
Smarty Pants
No matter what, they will convince you to be on their side, even if for a minute. Moreover, they are always politically correct. So, you may have a hard time understanding them which can ultimately lead you to surrender. Often, you’ll be left wondering if it’s just them who think you’re dumb or you actually are.
Mr. Calculator
Let me introduce you to the accountants. 25 days in a month, you’ll find them stuck to YouTube but the other five, they will be running around for their life. They are the ones drowned in numbers, bank cheques (we haven’t come to terms with Online Banking, yet) and stapler pins.