My time at SVYM and in Kenchanahalli has been a whirlwind of
adventure, challenges, ambiguity, and incredibly sweet moments. The first week
of my time in India was spent visiting tourist sites, and taking classes at
SVYM’s campus about Indian culture, gender studies, labor polices, and
healthcare system. During this week, I came a way with a better understanding
of India and the astoundingly diverse people and social, economic, religious
structures that exist within it.
The second week, I was lucky enough to be a part of the
first ever Cornell/SVYM partnership of all girls debate camp for students
between the ages of 13 to 15. My time with the girls as both a judge and a mentor
was a truly amazing and touching experience for me. Having early on labeling
myself a “non-kid person,” I was hesitant about spending an entire week with
early teen girls. Much to my surprise, my experience at the debate camp was one
of my favorite moments in India. The girls were kind, smart, well spoken, and
incredibly welcoming and genuine. I found myself speaking openly and honestly
about my experience in India and my life growing up in the US. I also felt free
and comfortable enough to ask about their lives in India, and being part of a culture
that thoroughly embraces the technological innovations of the future, while never
denying its traditions of the past. Even though the camp has ended, I find
myself keeping in touch with a few of the girls over email.
After the
two weeks ended in Mysore, our group of 16 students split up to various sites
to pursue our projects. I was placed in a small rural village, Kenchanahalli
near the Bandipor Tiger Reserve and the Nagarhole Forest, with two other Cornell
students, Alena, and Katrina. My project looked at women
entrepreneurial units in tribal villages and the self-help groups (SHGs)
they’ve formed. One SHG is producing different types of Ragi products, while
the other is a tailoring unit that makes handbags and shirts. These SHGs offer
the women a means of livelihood and a way forward for economic independency.
Despite the current success of the SHGs, they were still not making enough
profit. My job was to help the women create awareness for their products by
creating a website and helping them sell on online platforms like Amazon India
and Flipkart.
During the four weeks, I visited
tribal villages, became familiar with the women from the two self help groups,
and get to know the students and employees at Kenchanhalli on a personal level.
At the end, I was able to create a website where the women could sell their
products online. (Please checkout the link here https://www.totally-tribal.com/our-story
and follow TotallyTribal on facebook, instagram, and twitter!) However,
due to unforeseen challenges with PAN numbers and GST Numbers (business and tax
identification numbers) and other form registration details, I was not able to
register the products with Amazon India or Flipkart. This part of the project
was graciously taken over by Alena, whose gumption and problem-solving skills
became a critical asset through the mayhem of bureaucracy. Hopefully, in the two extra weeks Katrina and
Alena are there, they will be able to have the products listed.
Throughout this project, I struggled not to internalize the
stress or worry of my work. Despite the importance of this project and the
impact it has, I know I can only do my best at the end of the day. This feeling
is one that I continued to struggle with, but eventually with time and
deliberate practice that involved setting strict workday hours and taking
meaningful breaks, I’ll was able to keep it in check. Other challenges I faced
during my project included lack of power, Wi-Fi access, language barriers
working with tribal groups, struggling with having a lack of a tangible product
for most of my project, and many more. To overcome these challenges or at the
very least make peace with them, I found myself relying on my sense of humor
and my cohort members. I can’t thank Katrina and Alena enough for their support
and their friendship. I couldn’t imagine this experience without them.
During my internship, I learned how to not internalize
stress, and how to have realistic and practical expectation about my project. I
also learned that working in a drastically different cultural setting means not
only respecting and understanding the culture, but viewing all experiences and
responses from that cultural lens. I learned that often it is too easy to slip
your ego into service and to be so focused on making an impact that you confuse
service with aid. However, true service is a mutually beneficial partnership
that grows both parties involved. And that is what this experience has done for
me, and what I hope I have done for SVYM.
These six weeks have taught me so
much about India as well as myself. SVYM has a very unique way of approaching
human development that is not only practical and innovative in a resource
limited setting, but also human-centric and is very much moving people forward
while respecting and maintaining their traditions of the past. It has been truly
an amazing experience and an incredible honor to take part in this program.
Many thank yous to my mentor, to SVYM, to Dr. Reka and Donna, to my Cornell
cohort, to all the wonderful people at Kenchanahalli, and to the ILR donor who
made this trip possible.
Sincerely and with deep gratitude,
Hanni H. Wiegand
Hanni along with her mentor, Mr. Basu
The students placed at Kenchanahalli: Alena Madar, Hanni Wiegand, and Katrina Torres
