Serve in India
Service Corps Stories
Shalu Umapathy (Post Tsunami Rehabilitation work – Bhoomika Trust, Chennai)
As I reflect over the last eight months, it's clear to me that the AIF Service Corps Fellowship has allowed me to acquire an immense knowledge base about social work, the context of NGOs in India, as well as the cultural differences between working in the US and in India. Having left my position as an Analyst at a marketing consulting firm in New York, I hardly knew what to expect – all I knew was that Bhoomika Trust was an NGO focused on post-tsunami rehabilitation in South India.
Eight months later, after collaborating with the fisherfolk in Tamil Nadu, government officials, and employers for the tsunami-affected, not to mention feeling some homesickness, I find myself strangely at peace with so much that had initially troubled me. At first, I was frustrated with numerous uncommitted NGOs Bhoomika Trust worked with on tsunami rehabilitation projects. Over time, however, I witnessed the transformation of these very NGOs as they recognized their own potential through honest practices and Bhoomika’s guidance. At home, I’ve faced a different set of challenges. I am now at ease with the pallis, or small lizards, that have taken reign over my apartment and I have even acquired the hard stare of locals when I bargain for an auto rickshaw ride. In my free time, I take vocal and dance classes, study kalari paettu, an ancient martial arts form, and, last but not least, argue with my grandmother who lives ten minutes away but calls twelve times a day.
At Bhoomika Trust, I have gained a strong understanding of the post-tsunami context in South India and what is required for effective rehabilitation. After the disaster struck, NGOs oversupplied boats to the fishing community, effectively eliminating many fishermen's livelihoods. My colleague and I started JobLinks, an employment scheme that facilitates the interaction between tsunami-affected individuals who want full-time jobs and local industries. We regularly meet with communities to understand their vocational interests as well as to research local companies that are understaffed. Our database lists over 500 open positions and 800 candidate profiles, including their skills, education, and prior training. We have sent groups of these individuals to local companies for interviews, ultimately providing an alternate source of income to families who were otherwise dependent on their local NGO for sustenance.
The AIF Service Corps Fellowship has confirmed my long-term interest in development work, and has given me the confidence to know that I can make a difference. The experience has inspired me to aim towards a career that bridges nonprofit development initiatives and corporate strategy.
Lauren Lo Guidice (Supporting work for Centre for rights of sexual minorities. Karnataka Health Promotion Trust, Bangalore)
My experience as an American India Service Corps Fellowship has given me a unique opportunity to live and work in India. I have learned an enormous amount simply from just being here. I have done more than just work for my NGO, I have made connections to the community in Bangalore and been able to explore things that interested me about India. The Service Corps is great in that it brings people to India for a long enough time that they will be permanently connected in some way when they go back to the U.S. The bi-annual conferences and orientation give the fellows a chance to reflect on their work and development in India.
Work-wise I was able to make the most of my situation. To be honest the experience working over all was a mixed bag.
Perhaps I came here with expectations that I did not know I was making. KHPT did not provide me with the work environment or enough work for that matter in order for me to feel that I was learning as much as I could from being in India. So, I increased my work load by linking up with a partner organization to KHPT called Sangama. Though Sangama I was able to learn volumes about the sexuality minority community, activism and community participation. I did complete a small research project with KHPT and through that process gained valuable insights into monitoring and evaluation in the Avahan program. I would say that I was successful this year in that I have connected with a community, learned a lot and completed some of the projects that I set out to do. That might not sound like a lot to someone that is sitting in the U.S., but after living here for almost ten months I can see that the effort that I have put in has paid off.
Samantha Iyer (Human Rights, Work with Dalits, People’s Watch – Tamil Nadu, Madurai)
It would be difficult to characterize my experience as a Service Corps Fellow in particularly consistent terms. When I think of my last seven months working at People’s Watch-Tamil Nadu (PW-TN), my mind recalls all sorts of scenes and images: reading the nauseating testimony of victims tortured by the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka Special Task Force (STF) at 1:00 am while trying to meet the 4:00 am deadline for a grant application; discovering the stark contrasts in the willingness of victims to speak while meeting with Dalits denied their right to contest in Panchayat elections; hearing grown adults scolded at like children; sitting through long meetings in literary Tamil of little or no relevance to me; and hearing the heroic stories of human rights education students who have outright challenged practices like child marriage in their villages. But above all, with great sincerity and with no clichés intended, I recall the many extraordinary and inspiring people that I have met: torture victims who have better social skills than most people I know and now work treating other survivors of torture; activists from very humble backgrounds who, through their own intelligence, will, and sometimes the support of their families, have learned to thrive; Dalit women who, despite living in any extremely patriarchal, casteist, and classist society, have come to recognize patriarchy, casteism, and classism for what it is, rather than some inevitable social order.
I will admit that my contributions to PW-TN are not yet tangible, at least in my mind. I have had the opportunity to work in various units of PW-TN for the last seven months. Currently, I am writing a report on best practices for developing a human rights education program. The report, commissioned by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, will be used as a guide to develop human rights education programs in other countries. It is a detailed survey of the history and form of PW-TN’s enormous human rights education program, describing the impact of the program as well as both the right and wrong steps that PW-TN made in the development of its program. I am also finishing a petition to the UN Special Rapporteur on Racial Discrimination and a number of international human rights organizations requesting action in the “Pappapatti/Keeripatti” case. In these two villages in addition to a couple of others in Tamil Nadu, Dalits have faced psychological and physical intimidation, social boycotts, and sometimes murder in their attempts to contest elections in the constituencies that are reserved for them by law. I’ll only discover the effects of this work if and when the INGOs and the UN take up the case. Other projects I’ve worked on include writing a grant application to the UN Torture Fund for a project providing relief and rehabilitation to victims tortured by the STF. (The Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments established the STF to hunt down the legendary bandit and poacher, Veerapan.) The effects of this work as well will only be clear after the grant-making committee decides on the application in May. Thus I don’t yet have a clear sense of the contributions that I’ve made here. But I guess that’s the nature of the beast involved.
The primary problems that I’ve faced are not related to the nature of the work itself; rather, they relate to the NGO culture. Self-criticism seems to be wane as position in the hierarchy increases. Few pay attention to deadlines, which comes at the cost of the people the organization serves. At times, loyalty seems to be of greater importance than the goals of the organization. As a result of these factors, certain projects feel like they have gone to waste, while others are done haphazardly at the last minute. I cannot say that I have “dealt” with these problems. The best that I can say is that I have done is tried to work within this system, even if I do not agree with it.
My experience working in India has been a struggle in some ways, but ultimately, my time here has been extremely valuable. I’ve learned immensely about the social challenges facing India, particularly South India. I’ve also gained some insights into the Indian legal system and the fascinating world of Indian NGO culture. In fact, I feel that I’ve benefited much more than I have contributed in concrete terms. As my projects come to fruition in the coming months, I hope that I will be able to say that this sentiment has changed.