For 2 1/2 to 3 months I will be spending a summer in India to complete an internship for my graduate degree in Conflict Resolution at Portland State University. I will be leaving around the end of June or beginning of July and will return mid-September.
So far nothing is set in stone as to where I will be, but my hope is to land a position at Educate Girls for 4 weeks in the state of Rajasthan, and 10 weeks at Chaitanya in Rajgurunagar, Maharashtra. I should find out within a week or so from my internship coordinator just where my future will be.
A little about the organizations I am interested in:
Educate Girls
http://www.educategirls.in/progressreport_intro.html
Young girls are at quite a disadvantage in India simply because of their gender. Many are illiterate and have no opportunity to get an education. "The national literacy rate of girls over 7 years is 54% against 75% for boys. In the Northern Hindi-speaking states of India, girls literacy rates are particularly low, ranging between 33-50%" (www.UNICEF.org/India/media_2673.htm)
At Educate Girls the mission is to encourage and empower families to enroll their female children in schools. Girls who become educated will have more of chance to stay out of poverty, live a healthy life, reduce gender discrimination, and pave the pathway for other young girls. The organizations visits local villages around the state, going door-to-door, to meet families with female children.
Once girls are in school the organization keeps up with their academic improvement and areas of need. It is also just as important to have the community and family engaged in the child's education and become involved with their attendance.
There are many social, cultural, and political barriers that limit a girls education and even the work that Educate Girls participates in. Many girls are expected to work on their families farms once it is the season for harvest. This means that girls are not able to go back to school and continue their studies. The government has even ignored that there are high numbers of girls who are not in school and have taken their time to get funding for them to attend.
Educate Girls has a long road ahead of them in their mission to close the gender gap. This is an inspiration to me as woman because I have had the opportunity to be educated as a young girl. I did not have to worry about a gender gap or not being able to attend school because I am female. Because of my education I have been able to accomplish a lot of things in my life, and also look after and support myself in a positive way. It would be meaningful and humbling if I were to help the young girls of Rajasthan by empowering them to accomplish the same.
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Chaitanya
http://www.chaitanyaindia.org/
The work done at Chaitanya is similar to that of Educate Girls, but instead with the focus of rural adult women. Their vision is to create a society in India in which women have equal access to resources and have control over their finances. The goal is to empower women and youth to build communities that are self-reliant and sustainable in order to improve their quality of life.
The organization provides trainings and information that pertains to reducing poverty for women and awareness about the government and its policies. There are also counseling programs for women who have been physically abused by their spouses and how to prevent it from happening to others. Much of this work happens in group counseling with other women. There are also pre-marriage counseling options for those about to be married.
Health is a focus and concern for Chaitanya as it looks at the needs assessments of villages around the state. The communities are encouraged to become involved in the health needs of the population and to prevent poor health for women and children who are most susceptible to disease.
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To me, it would be interesting and worthwhile to see how these two organizations, which are in different parts of India, who have common goals and interests regarding women and girls of India work to improve conditions for the community as a whole. I would like to see how young girls are educated and empowered to live a healthy and meaningful life, and then to see how women carry out this vision by improving their communities.
All I am doing now is waiting to see what happens next...
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