All good things must come to an end...

All good things must come to an end...

After four months in India and 5 months abroad I am finally settled back into life in Wolfeboro, NH for a well needed time of rest and reflection before starting school back at Mount Holyoke next semester.
After talking with many friends and family members about my thoughts of my experience at this point I feel as if I have been able to gather my thoughts and am prepared to share them in a more concrete format. I am still working through my experience and all that I learned and look froward to talking with each of you!

Manipal University

My experience at Manipal was bitter sweet and had negative as well as positive aspects. I felt as if I was constantly an outsider to the "real" India that lay outside of the University. In addition to being a white american woman, I was further marginalized due to my living situation on the university campus. I often felt frustrated that I was not experiencing the daily life of people in India or interacting with people in their territory on a daily basis. It took me about a month and a half to overcome my frustration and seek other means of insuring a fulfilling experience. Participating in an independent research project, taking a course on virological lab techniques, and focusing on my final research project helped involve me in the community, bridged the gap between myself and the indian students, and made me feel as if I had accomplished goals that I had set for myself. Despite my frustrations, these experiences made my time at Manipal University rich and provided me with the academic and cultural stimulation that I had been seeking.
Overall I feel as if I am now much more knowledgeable about public health in India, as well as the society and life in India. I learned just as much from being in the classroom as I did from scheduled field visits, group excursions and travel, independent travel, and just living in India. That is the beauty of studying abroad. I really appreciated the unique educational experience that provided me with the opportunity to apply the theories and lessons that we learned in class to analyze the society that we observed and were a part of.
After this program, I feel more prepared to work in the public health sector and have gained a better understanding of what my true interests are. I feel as if my specific area of interest is virus research. I hope to work in a lab doing research on virus pathogens in order to find cures or vaccines. Ideally I would be interested in researching how viruses affect countries in the global south versus in the global north. In particular how lifestyle, society, and economics affect transmission of communicable diseases. Although these are two very different areas of research I believe that with further education and an internship my true path will be revealed. As long as I continue to follow my passions and maintain an open mind and heart, I will have a fulfilling and rewarding job.

Public Health in India

Drawing on material from classroom lectures and personal observations I have come to a number of working theories about why public health in India is still in need of reform and improvement. I believe that poverty, population, and development are all key factors associated with poor public health in India.
First and foremost, about 22% of Indias population or 272,140,000 people are below the poverty line, 68% of the population lives on less than $2 a day which, although easier to do in India than in the us, is not ideal by any means. Poverty leads to malnutrition, poor living conditions, and poor health care; all which contribute to the spread of communicable diseases. In order to address the disease burden in India the government needs to increase expenditure on health care programs but more importantly it needs to increase its political commitment towards monitoring new and existing programs to insure the successful implementation of policies on all levels and in all districts throughout the country. In addition, communities need to commit to the government programs available to them and be active advocates for their own right to health; this can only be done with proper education and stable economic conditions.
Second, India's huge population is problematic on a theoretical and tactile level. Theoretically, having such a large population makes it difficult to homogeneously implement policies and insure that the entire population is receiving the education and health care necessary to maintain a healthy condition. On a tactile level the large population results in job insecurity, unsafe/ unsanitary living conditions (overcrowding), and a decrease in the value of the individual. All of these contribute to poor health and are directly or indirectly related to poverty. It is expected that as the population growth rate decreases peoples health will increase, therefore; it is important to educate individuals about birth control, family planning, and the benefits of small families (not always an easy task in a place such as rural India for reasons both social and religious).
Third, development has led to a dramatic increase in the gap between the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated, and the upper and lower castes. The drastic change and rate of development seen after india opened its boarders to international trade has been extremely beneficial for some but has left the majority behind without an means of voicing their problems or concerns or obtaining health care. Those that were left behind remain in extreme poverty and now face an added burden because they are disconnected from the national government and lack representation. In order to solve this problem one thing the national government needs to do is increase surveillance and monitoring of policies/ programs.
The number of national programs for health care in India is huge however their implementation is often not successful. In many cases the money that is being provided for program X,Y or Z is being used by the intermediary groups or individuals and is never actually used for what it was allocated for however because their isn't any follow up and the parties do not face any repercussions there is no sense of responsibility and peoples health are continuously put in jeopardy. The book "Everybody loves a Good Drought" provides an excellent view of the situation in India and suggests many reasonable and understated solutions for poverty.

Thank You 

As my final sentiment of my final blog post I need to acknowledge those that made my experience possible and so enjoyable. First, my parents, thank you for your endless support and encouragement. You are both role models and inspirational figures in my life. I appreciate so much all that you do for me and all that you did to make this experience possible. Second, my friends from the United States, traveling abroad is not always easy and it was so wonderful to know that I had a support system just on the other side of the computer. Third, those of you who read my blog, thank you for providing me with the opportunity to reflect on my experiences and share all that I was learning and doing. It was a pleasure to write knowing that there were people interested and involved in my experience. Fourth, the friends I made in India, there are no words to accurately convey my appreciation and love that I have for you all. It was a wild experience made more enjoyable and exciting by your company. Finally, I would like to thank my program coordinator Katie Jo and my TA Ananda Brinkmann, you guys were the rock to which our ship was tethered. You managed to hold everything together in the face of uncertainty, misunderstanding, and sheer craziness and did it with finesse and grace. I so appreciate all of the time you both put it to make our experience so wonderful!