Arrival and Work at PremaVidya

After gathering my luggage once I arrived in Bangalore, I proceeded to exit the terminal, where I was hoping to find a stand for Meeru cabs (a reliable, prepaid cab service). I was then approached by a man who asked if I needed any help, so I asked him to point me in the direction of Meeru cabs and he assured me that he worked for that company and brought me to a stand, I looked up at the sign above me and found that it was written in Kannada (ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಕನ್ನಡ) one of the native languages of Bangalore. I continued with this company, and although the man who sold me my ticket tried to short change me, I was able to make it to the apartments safely, later realizing this service was not Meeru cabs. At this point it was 
midnight, so after I arrived I went right to sleep.




View from my window at work. ---------------------------->




In the morning, I ate a traditional Indian breakfast at the apartments, as I have now done every morning since, and went off to work at PremaVidya with my partner Parisa, and with Navee and Kristen. The four of us walked from our apartment to the bus stop and only needed to take one bus to work! It was smooth sailing from there, we stopped by a cobbler on the side of the road, and Navee and Kristen dropped off their shoes to get fixed. When we arrived at work, we were escorted to an office where we met with Sudha, who is in charge of development at PremaVidya. She was very welcoming and acquainted us better with the organization. Mr. Naresh Bala, the founder and director of PremaVidya, has been sick with thyroid issues and has been out of work for three weeks now (which is very uncommon for him). While we are waiting for his return, the four of us, Parisa, Navee, Kristen, and myself, are being inducted into the company by better understanding its inner workings. When Mr. Naresh returns, we will be given more specific tasks.


PremaVidya's main goal is to motivate students and enhance their ability to learn. They mainly achieve this by creating educational videos that work in conjunction with the syllabuses that the Indian government has made for the municipal schools. In India, each student must pass an exam to graduate from the 10th standard (standards can be compared to grades in the United States). Having a certificate from the 10th standard is extremely important to be able to get a job, or move on to more schooling, but this exam is extremely difficult to pass with the training that public schools currently provide. (Note that by the 10th standard, students are generally 15 or 16 years old, depending on when they began their education.)  92% of the students served in PremaVidya's model pass! This is because their model address many facets of learning. It works with motivation, interaction, peer-to-peer learning, and many schools even employ psychologists to assist with soft skills (handling emotional qualms, relationship issues, peer pressure, and pressures from home). This all contributes to retaining students and addressing Indian's overwhelming drop-out issues. Another important aspect that PremaVidya implements in order to address the issue of drop-outs, is pairing students together who are recognized as "likely to drop out" with a group of those that are more stable in the education system; thus it becomes a goal for the stable kids to make sure their peers do not drop out. Every child is also given a unique ID used for tracking in order to make sure they are all is accounted for, and that the organization's work is productive.

Our first task as interns is to make an educational video, this is completed by all the new employees in order to better understand the necessary steps, and fully grasp the processes undertaken by PremaVidya. This is completely for our own edification, and will not be used in the schools and so we are supposed to complete the tasks of all of the different jobs from; the content expert (who generally has 25-30 years of experience teaching and provides the content, script, and works within the restraints of the syllabus); to the subject matter expert, who makes the powerpoint with the script; to the techie, who transforms the ppt into a video and adds the narration; and finally the quality team where it is fully reviewed.


Parisa and I are having so much fun with the entire process, and asked Professor Moledina narrate with the script we have written. After we are done with this project, we will be delving deeper into understanding the quality team's role.


Yesterday, we met with Suman, he is Mr. Naresh's partner and is, quite frankly, in charge of everything. He has lived a very interesting life including being schooled through India's municipal education system, becoming a professional hockey player, studying entrepreneurship, and receiving many different degrees in varying fields. I am really inspired by him and his accomplishments, and am so thrilled I will be working with him.

13.5 Hours Down, 3.5 to go (Singapore Layover)

Having left from LAX on May 26th at 3:45pm and not arriving in Singapore until this morning (May 28th) at 3:30am, I am still trying to wrap my mind around how long I've been traveling and how time changes. No matter my delirium, it has been a really remarkable experience comparing the Los Angles airport, to the Tokyo airport (for a brief layover), to the Singapore airport and how each airport tends to reflect the culture of its location, naturally. There are definitely western customs strewn about Singapore's airport, more so than Tokyo's for sure, but that again is a mere reflection of Singapore's culture--a booming economic capital of the world that engages transnationally with different economies. I am not an apt judge of Tokyo's airport because I was only there for just over an hour, but I got to witness interactions with the store clerks, and the people working throughout it. The airport in Singapore was amazing. It far exceeded your typical Duty Free shops, and Hudson News (although there was that too). But, it also had sunflower and butterfly gardens, snooze lounges, cuisine from all around the world, and more designer shops than I could bare to walk through with my heavy backpack weighing me down.


Singapore airlines ran parallel to the elegance of the airport. When I first stepped on the plane, the flight attendants were very joyful and welcoming, and were all dressed to the nines in bright traditional dresses. They handed each of us hot towels once we got to our seats, and offered us free international newspapers, then Givenchy travel packs with socks, a tooth brush and tooth paste. The restrooms were equipped with all your basic amenities and the food was actually quite good (they served us 3 full meals between Los Angeles and Singapore). Wine was paired with each meal, and for dessert... personal Ben and Jerry's ice cream cups. It was very comfortable to say the least.


When I first took my seat on the plane, I heard the kids from Singapore behind me exclaim, "look at the beach!" as we we flew over California's coastline. At this moment it occurred to me that they were departing from an adventure that they just had in America, as I was about to find new opportunities for hoopla in their home country. They were so excited to see the beach for a final time; something that I can sometimes see as trivial and take for granted, but can compare to the elation I feel to be spending 16 hours in their home country (even if it is just in the airport) as it signifies the first phase of my journey. One person's everyday occurrences, is another's chance in a lifetime. Those kids were glued to the window at take-off, just as I was at landing--but we embraced completely different sensations, leaving comfort and clarity to uncertainty and new adventures. 

Singapore

Food for Thought

"This is my larger theory. It doesn't matter if you are white, yellow or green, or a black African Negro. The concept is homo sapiens. The European is at an advanced technological stage, and the African is at a stage of technology that is more primitive. But all humanity must unite together in the struggle against nature... 'Humanity's struggle to conquer nature,' the Pygmy said fondly. 'It is the only hope. It is the only way for peace and reconciliation- all humanity one against nature."
"...'but humanity is part of nature too."
'Exactly. That is exactly the problem.'"


An excerpt from a book called, We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families, by Philip Gourevitch. In this book, Gourevitch describes alienation and division amongst Rwandan society, which led to the massacre and genocide in 1994.

Call me, Beep me, If You Wanna Reach Me

I am getting closer and closer to my new departure date! I leave May 26th out of LAX only to be welcomed into Singapore with a 16-hour layover. After which, I will have a two hour flight to Bangalore.


I am bummed that I will be missing a great opportunity tomorrow to tour and become acquainted with a few NGO's in Southern India, but I am excited to hear how it goes from those that will be experiencing it. The group will be going to the Association for People with Disability (APD) at Hennur (http://www.apd-india.org/), and then off to SELCO at JP Nagar (http://www.selco-india.com/).
No matter my disappointment for missing out on this opportunity, I still could not be more grateful for the adventures I will soon experience at the juncture that I am about to meet.


Because I am arriving a little late, it gives me all the more motivation to immediately kick it into high gear and work as hard as I possibly can; I will be giving everything I have to my work with PremaVidya.


I planned on getting my modes of communication together after my arrival, but because I had a little extra time I was able to prepare a few things now. If you need to reach me while I am overseas there are a few things that I was able to set up (:


You can call me at (760) 230-0024. (I set up this number through skype, but with my iPhone I can receive calls on this number as well as make them. Also, it will only charge you, the caller, as if you are making a local call to San Diego!)


You can skype me at madison.swoy


You can email me at madison.swoy@gmail.com


I will have internet at the apartments and will be able to frequently keep up with my blog and emails.


Counting down the moments until my arrival in Bangalore!

Slight Change of Plans

Yesterday, I planned on leaving for Bangalore, India to get started on my adventure. However, after a mishap with my passport I missed my flight. After many long phone calls with Singapore Airlines I was able to rebook my flight out for May 26th. I will now be joining up with the GSE team on May 28th. My spirits are still high despite there being a few bumps in the road along the way.
I know that this experience is completely worth the fight, and it will be worth every little issue that has come up along the way, whether it be funding, passports or support.
T-minus 5 days until my departure. I could not be more eager.

GSE Summer Field Experience Description

"Global SE creates a co-learning ecosystem made up of student teams, social enterprises, and other professionals from around the world. The Global SE field experience is an applied field-based continuation of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Seminar. Currently, Global SE operates in Bangalore, India and lasts just over 6 weeks. Multidisciplinary teams of students advised by faculty/staff and local social entrepreneurs, write business, marketing, or feasibility plans for social enterprises. These plans are a lens through which we learn about the social problems studied in IDPT 406 [GSE]. The plans are supported to enhance mission delivery for the social enterprise."

T-minus 15 Hours

Tomorrow, Sunday May 20th, I will be leaving for Bangalore, India.

I am so incredibly thankful to have been given this unique opportunity. I am traveling with 12 brilliant College of Wooster students, our advisor Professor Moledina, as well as Cathy McConnell, and Laura Valencia. The 12 of us have studied social entrepreneurship in a course called GSE (Global Social Entrepreneurship) in Wooster, Ohio. We learned to ask important questions, think critically, and have begun understand the vast and overwhelming intricacies of Indian culture. No matter, I still have much to learn and discover. My adventure is just beginning and I look forward to both the challenges and successes that lie ahead.

This opportunity would not be possible without the lessons that Professor Amyaz Moledina has taught me. He has inspired me to dream bigger, and has encouraged me to reach further than I had ever imagined possible. Under Professor Moledina, I have realized that few social problems are too large to defeat. With his mentorship I have already achieved personal success in my research; I have been able to break down and understand concepts that before this course I would have felt were paralyzing. I am inspired by his ability to see no challenge as arduous or too great, and it for this reason alone I am able to join my 12 classmates in India this summer.

Studying Global Social Entrepreneurship (GSE) at the College of Wooster has given me an outlet to channel my passion for understanding global problems and inciting social change.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience, first handedly, the process of creating social change through the tangible resources that a non-profit provides and utilizes. I will be interning with PremaVidya to better understand India's education system.

I am so excited.