Yuva for Sewa - An Interview with Suneeti Gupta, Medical Student

Spending time away from home and doing service in a far away place is not an easy task. Suneeti is a medical student in Iowa City, who recently spent two months in rural areas of the state of Maharashtra, India on a service project organized by Yuva for Sewa (YFS). Suneeti talked to Seattle Desi Network on what YFS is, how she got inspired to spend on a service project, and how youth may go about choosing to make an impact in India through service and in their lives.

What is Yuva for Sewa program? Is this a one time event or annual?
Yuva for Sewa (YFS) is a program offered by Sewa International that was created in order to provide the Youth with an opportunity to do service in the USA, India, and Caribbean countries. It is designed to be a one time service project that exposes the youth to life-changing opportunities. It is an opportunity to experience selfless service to a needy population. The projects are designed not only to provide you with meaningful work but also to really benefit the communities that you serve. Since the projects are available in many diverse fields and in three different countries with varying time requirements, there is a project that can fit everyone's needs.

What motivated you to participate?
I was born and raised in India till I was 11 years old. Since then we have moved around a lot. As a consequence, for me the thought of home has always conjured up an image of India. The impressions I made as a young child motivated me to go back and give back to my country and help my nation in a meaningful way. Even though I knew as a very inexperienced first year medical student I wouldn't be able to make huge changes, I still wanted to work on a project that would be meaningful to people other than me. Even small changes can have a big impact and I wanted my project to have a meaning after I completed it. The YFS projects, even though they are short, are designed only after a team of volunteers visit the project site and work with the NGO to plan a project that the NGO actually needs.

What was your project?
My project was related to healthcare since I wanted to incorporate the 'Global Program elective' from my school with my interest in medicine in India. My project was in Sangola, Maharashtra with Mata Balak Utkarsha Pratishthan, an organization that worked to provide support for women through healthcare, education, microfinancing, counseling services, and in many more ways. My project more specifically was a survey based project with three main parts. In the first part, I was interviewing and interacting with a local artisan community to determine and look for ways to reduce their occupational hazards and improve their health. The second part of my project was to do door-to-door interviews with women to find out their experiences with child birth, whether they were chosing to deliver at home or at hospitals and at what points were they utilizing the healthcare system. The third part of my project was to work with the pediatricians in Sangola to determine the causes of serious illness leading to hospitalization in infants less than a year of age.

What were some highlights of your experiences?
The projects I worked on were challenging and tested my strengths and weaknesses. Going from home to home to speak with women about their personal health issues was an eye-opener for me. Initially I had thought that these women would not talk to me and feel that I was intruding in their personal matters. It turned out instead that even a dubious title of 'Medical Student' apparently qualified me enough to be intrusive and ask very personal questions. The barrier to our communication not their comfort level, instead it was in my comfort in asking the questions. I had to really revise my own opinions and open myself up and really reach a new comfort level in order to truly do justice to these women. After all if these women were willing to share, it was my responsibility to be a professional and take their information with the respect and seriousness it deserved.

The projects for me were not only challenging but a lot of fun as well. I was truly surprised with the warmth that the ladies who ran Mata Balak treated me with. While I was there, I was treated as their family member. I was invited to join them during lunch and we would all share our food with each other. I was invited to their homes and into their personal lives. I learned about their personal struggles and how they had overcome them, often with the help of Mata Balak, and now they were the backbone of Mata Balak. Since they had struggled and had received timely help, these women truly believed in the work they were doing. They were the walking stories to inspire the women who came to this organization to seek help to better themselves. I was humbled by the fact that often these women not only had the responsibility of taking care of their families, but they also worked a second or third job or ran another business on top of their full time work with Mata Balak. Their hard work was reflected in the attitudes of the women in the communities they worked in. I am just glad I had the opportunity to be a small part of this effort. Not only did it teach me the value of reaching out, but gave me hope that there is a future for the women of rural India.

How did villagers you worked with receive your help? How do you think they can continue the best practices you have taught?
The villagers on the whole were receptive to my help. I think it helped that I had the banner of Mata Balak behind me. As an example, when I was working with the artisan community in Balawadi on their occupational hazard survey, my first visit was less than ideal. My inexperience with the language and the people showed. After a shaky start with the doctor of the community (the doctor disagreed with the focus and approach of my project and wanted to change it!), I headed off to meet the artisans. My goal that day was to introduce myself to the artisans and get to know them before I designed a formal survey. My hastily written questions in Marathi, a language I had not been exposed to since 6th grade, with the help of my translator prompted answers that extended beyond my language base. My translator had to take over the interview and I ended up being the observer. The people sensed this and some ideas that I proposed, such as doing Yoga, were met with resistance. Contrast that with my second visit a couple of weeks later, after I had interviewed around a 100 women for my second part of my project. As a 'seasoned' interviewer and a whole lot more comfortable with the language and my role, I went back to the community. The people were amazed at the difference in me and the dynamics shifted. They were more receptive of my suggestions and willing to try new approaches and ideas, such as Yoga, that they had been opposed to before!

Since I was there for a relatively short period of time, I was not able to implement the changes that I suggested. However, Mata Balak has taken my suggestions on all three projects and are implementing changes and are doing further work in these areas. With the artisans they are planning on getting a Yoga instructor to evaluate the health problems and the specific exercise regimen that the community as a whole can implement to reduce the severity and delay the onset of problems they face. Mata Balak is also going to continue the health campaign, started while I was there, that was a result of my project with the women on their experiences with child birth. I also helped to develop guidelines and informational brochures that could be passed onto parents to educate and help reduce severe illness in their infants.

Finally, one of the most exciting news I received was when I got back to the US after my project. My work had brought greater exposure to Mata Balak and they now had interested donors helping them to fund some of these projects!

If you were to single out one benefit of the work you have done, what was it?
If I had to single out one thing, I would say that I started to truly believe that small changes can make a big impact. I went to India on a two month project and I was able to achieve so much. I worked on a crucial need for an NGO that has spawned a number of projects that have the potential to help hundreds of people. I have made connections with people that I respect and would love to work with again. In fact, I am looking forward to reaching my fourth year and going back to India on an away rotation to learn more about healthcare in India. I want to continue making an impact on the healthcare in India, not only during medical school, but also after when I become a full fledged doctor!

What are some considerations for youth in the USA who are interested in doing some service activity? How can they narrow down a specific project and organization?
Be open! That is the best advice I can give. Whether you work within the US, in the Caribbean or in India, there is always the culture shock to deal with. The shock is easier to deal with if you realize what your prejudices are and what your preconceived notions are and be willing to change them. Be willing to truly immerse yourself in the experience. Do not go into it thinking it is going to be two months of vacation!

The best way to narrow down the projects is to first decide how much time commitment you can offer. Second decide which country you are interested in doing a project in. Then write down what areas interest you (healthcare, education, etc). Then read through all the project descriptions that are available. I would suggest reading all of them and then picking your top three choices. This is the time to explore your strengths and weaknesses, so pick a project that will challenge you!

What is the best way to get considered for Yuva for Sewa 2008 program?
I think if you are prepared to do service and prepared to put in the work and face the challenges, you would be a step closer to getting considered for YFS 2008. The second of course would be to apply!

Yuva For Sewa can be reached at yfs@sewausa.org or http://www.sewausa.org/yuva-for-sewa.

- A Seattle Desi Network Interview