Sam I. ILR'24, Project in Palliative Care at SVYM

Hello! This summer I had an amazing opportunity to work on a project with the SVYM Palliative Care Center writing a book about people’s experiences in the Palliative Care Center at SVYM. The book is titled “Healing Hands and Caring Hearts” and it features the experiences of 13 different medical professionals and patients at the center. Going into the experience, as an ILR major, I had a lot of doubts about my knowIedge and I had to educate myself about the current state of palliative care in India. The first thing I did was to find the definition of palliative care as a holistic approach to improving the quality of life of patients and their families suffering from serious health-related illnesses where holistic care overrules curative care. I found that there was a huge need for palliative care across the country with an estimated 6 million people being in need of palliative care every year. My research also educated me on a model similar to SVYM’s Palliaitve Care center called community based palliative care which focuses on empowering and involving community caregivers and volunteers in the palliative care process under the supervision of trained palliative care nurses. With this understanding, I could identify with the purpose of the book to use storytelling to increase public awareness of palliative care and to empower community members to get involved with community based palliative care. Through sharing the stories and benefits people have experienced through palliative care, the idea of palliative care could be more accessible to people and less of an abstract concept.

I have learned so much about myself and others through this experience! One of my favorite parts of the summer was spending time at the palliative care center and interacting with patients, their families, medical workers at the center, and my mentor. Palliative care is a form of healthcare that at its root is compassion and empathy for others. Every person I spoke to was so passionate about finding ways to show care and empathy for the patients at the center. My mentor had a saying that “There is an instinct of empathy, compassion and care that is innate in every person.” This summer has shown me how much that saying is true. I am extremely grateful to SVYM, the GSL team, my mentor, and my cohort for making this experience unforgettable.

Aarthi A. GH A&S'24, Project: Vivekananda Memorial Hospital-Low Participation Rate iin Women's beneficial maternal health study.

Meeting with mentor about the research project. 

Presenting Dr. Sumanth a gift after his tour of the Mysore Teaching Hospital 

Visiting to the Primary Healthcare Center in Hebbal, Mysore City, 

This summer, I was fortunate to work with SVYM and the Vivekananda Memorial Hospital (VMH) in Sargur to learn more about the Indian healthcare system and women’s health. I worked with my mentor at VMH to develop a survey to understand why rural Indian women refused to participate in a beneficial maternal health study, and the social and personal causes that prevent women from improving their health outcomes. This project was part of a larger umbrella project with three other countries and the WHO aiming to lower the risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and promote early childhood development. After developing the survey, community healthcare workers dispersed it to rural women who had refused to participate in the WHO study. Afterwards, I analyzed the data to look for trends among the women in regards to non-participation. On a larger scale, this project can be tied to the social determinants of health which represent the underlying social causes which can improve or worsen one’s health outcomes. The results of my project are now being used to increase participation and health outcomes among rural women in Karnataka.

This program was a valuable learning experience for me in many ways. On a personal level, working through my project enabled me to develop my communication and planning skills as I had to ensure that my deliverable was completed promptly. In terms of professional development, I was able to foray into the field of Public Health Statistics and work on a research project that could make a tangible impact. Lastly, seeing different parts of Karnataka and its diversity was a definite highlight of the program as I was able to understand the beauty and nuances of a culture that is not my own. This project has allowed me to gain a variety of memories that I will carry with me for a lifetime.

Shruthisri (Sri) R. ILR ‘25, Project: Human Resources at SVYM

This past summer, I had the pleasure of working with the Human Resources Department at Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) as part of the India Global Service Learning Program. Under the mentorship of Ms. Cauvery and Dr. Vishwas, I focused on understanding the influence of organizational culture on employee satisfaction and retention.

Dr. Vishwas, one of Sri's mentors, lecturing on HR practices at SVYM.

The first phase of my project involved understanding the vision, mission, and core values of SVYM and how it is translated into the everyday work culture. After the first phase, I started designing a questionnaire that analyzed participants’ general attitudes and perspectives about day-to-day operations at the individual level and their engagement with SVYM. The questionnaire had close-ended (e.g., 4-point agreement scale) and open-ended questions across six topics: vision, mission & values, compensation, work environment, professional growth, co-worker relationships, and interactions with management.
Two versions of the questionnaire were presented to SYVM employees, manual and online, and we received over 440 responses within a 9-day timeframe. To analyze all the survey responses, I had to work with my mentor to execute initial data preparation, clean the dataset with Excel, and formulate a recommendation process to increase employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention. The final phase of my project ended with presenting my recommendations to the SVYM team using PowerPoint and data visualization tools. Thankfully, the results were positively received and are pending implementation.
In addition to working on my project, I enjoyed attending the guest lectures. From Mr. Purushotam’s talk on Labor Law to Dr. Balsubramanian’s talk on Gender Issues in Healthcare, each discussion was incredibly insightful. Reflecting on my experience thus far, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to step outside my comfort zone and work within a collaborative culture to initiate the change management process at SVYM. My sincere thanks to Dr. Vishwas, Ms. Cauvery, Donna Ramil, Anne Bugayoung, SVYM, and the GSL team for making this work possible and mentoring me throughout this process!

Mahona G. ILR'25, Project: Data Handbook for the Viveka Tribal Centre for Learning

Mahona (left) at Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel for a tea break. 

My name is Mohona G, and I am a Sophomore at the ILR School. This summer, I had the privilege of working with SVYM and the Viveka Tribal Centre for Learning in Hosahalli, India, on a service learning project. The project consisted of the creation of a handbook which summarizes all the relevant data and information about all of the aspects of VTCL. Some of the goals of the project included having a complete compilation of school information, and having an easily accessible and understood source which newly-hired teachers, parents, donors, or others can use to fully understand the inner workings of the school. In the first week of my work on the project, I visited VTCL, where I met with my mentors: Ms. Shashikala, Mr. Padmaraju, and Mr. Lokesh, along with many others. They gave me a brief summary of all of the school information. During the second week, I created an outline using this information, and met with Ms. Shashikala to go over the outline and make any necessary changes. In the third week, after making the suggested edits, I met with Ms. Shashikala to finalize the outline of the handbook.

 
During the fourth week, I used the outline to create a first draft of the handbook, which I went over with Ms. Shashikala and Mr. Padmaraju during our weekly meeting. In the fifth week, I added pictures and made other necessary changes from the previous week’s feedback to the draft, and went over it during our weekly meeting.

 
Finally, I used all of the feedback and other additional information, supplied by my mentors, to finish the handbook. The final handbook is approximately 29 pages long. It includes three primary sections: Administration, Academics and Scholastic Activities, and Co-Scholastic Activities, each with various sub-sections. The handbook also includes sections for feedback, achievements and awards, and acknowledgements of the donors.

 
I have learned the true value of many aspects of life that I had previously taken for granted during my time working on this project. For example, I have learned the value of patience, clear communication, and open-mindedness. Above all, I learned the value of looking past my own limited worldview to learn from others.

During my time with SVYM this past summer, I was given the opportunity to create IEC material designed to inform employees about workplace sexual harassment policy and India’s Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013. This material included a trifold brochure, two-sided flyer, and poster. To begin my project, I first needed to understand SVYM’s policy and the Indian legislation covering the matter. Further, in order to create awareness in the best way possible, I gave myself three side objectives. First, my work had to effectively convey information. To achieve this objective, I designed my materials with a logical progression of information, with intentional placement and ordering of details regarding the POSH Act and SVYM’s policy and complaint procedure. Second, my work had to accurately convey information. Therefore, I worked closely with the POSH Act and its exact language to ensure that the information I included was correct and significant. Third, my work had to efficiently convey information. Given the nature of brochures and flyers and their limited space and size, I had to design the materials efficiently and prioritize different details. And, last but not least, I had a personal objective of learning and growing from the experience.

Mentors, Ms Lilly (left) and Dr. Rekha, in the HR office at SVYM.

I worked closely with my mentor Ms. Lilly Verghese and Dr. Rekha throughout the process of developing my IEC materials. We met regularly per week to discuss my progress on the project, and they were very helpful in answering any and all questions I had. We also spoke about a range of other topics, including differences and similarities between Indian and United States legislation and culture, our day to day lives, and our goals for the future. In addition to the classes we were able to attend in the beginning of the program, such as a lecture on Gender Issues in Healthcare, I learned an unbelievable amount. Overall, I am extremely grateful to have gone through this experience. The program proved to be invaluable because of the connections I made, the perspective I gained, and the immense information I learned in the span of a single summer.

Annika A. ILR'24, Project: Creating Computer Literacy Guide for Future Teachers of India (FTI)

With educators at the Viveka School of Excellence in Sargur.

At the summit of the Jain temple at Shravanabelagola.

For my project, I was tasked with creating functional conversational English modules for students of the Future Teachers of India, or FTI, program headed by SVYM. I was also tasked with creating a Computer Literacy guide for the FTI students.
The FTI program supports aspiring teachers who have already earned degrees in various fields of study. They will engage in a 9 month course to learn about various educator skills, with one of the most important ones being English language education. Since many of these teachers aim to work in English-medium schools or government schools, it is important for them to be able to converse in English freely and confidently to their interviewers, coworkers, and future students. My job was to create a supplemental educational tool for the FTI participants to be able to consult in their free time that would give them the resources they need to successfully speak conversational English.

The Hoysala Temple at Belur. 

Along with the English guide, I created a computer literacy guide to supplement the Information and Communications Technology aspect of the FTI program. This guide covers a variety of information, from the basic hardware of a desktop computer to walkthroughs on commonly used Microsoft Office features.
I decided to create a website for the conversational English resource, as I believed it would be the easiest to navigate and consult for students with digital devices such as a mobile phone. This decision stems from the first important lesson I learned from community engagement, and that was the startling realization that I was just one part of a larger cause. Acknowledging that I would have a limited view and understanding of what was necessary for these modules, I believed a website format could allow teachers of the FTI program to customize the content to fit their needs. I also formatted all of the website's content into a document that could be accessed statically. This way, students without mobile devices or an internet connection would have the option to access the same resource in a different format. To look past myself and think about usability of my work in the future was the most vital thing I learned during my experience in India.
Conducting research for the project and putting it all together was the most challenging part of my work. I drew from a variety of resources and experiences to complete my final product. I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Viveka School of Excellence in Sargur, Karnataka, where I sat in on a day at school. I observed teachers in the English-medium classrooms and their interactions with young students. I noticed the setbacks that the pandemic had caused in terms of students' English language education. I also spoke to current students in the FTI program and came to understand their needs. I explicitly remember one student telling me that while she could understand the questions I was asking, she lacked the ability and confidence to reply to me in English. As an Indian American, I had my own assumptions about the education system in India and especially English language fluency in private selective schools, but through this visitation, I realized how much more nuance was present in teaching. I found that time and resources were spread thin and had to consider my project from the point of view of human capital. I was making a supplemental resource, not one that would require another individual to teach it and take hours out of their day to become familiar with it. I needed to make my website intuitive, reasonable, and thorough.
Another resource I took advantage of was contacting ESL (English as a Second Language) professors from my school. I consulted them about the website and different resources that would be of use for Indian students to learn and utilize English. Through this, I could narrow down specific books, techniques, and focus areas that would be helpful for English learners.
And finally, I drew upon my personal experience with language learning and my pre-existing knowledge of conversational English and computer usage. Being a language learner myself, I tried to include as many resources that I personally found helpful on the website and in the modules, such as language learning mobile apps and a plethora of audiovisual content.
I faced many challenges while working on this project. I am not knowledgeable about teaching English as a second language, especially to Indian students in Karnataka state. My lack of experience with English education and methods of how to best teach conversational English in an understandable manner caused great difficulty when trying to think of original content for the modules. Because of the sheer number of resources online, narrowing down what was helpful and doing my best to support a decent variety of content proved difficult. The field work (speaking to current FTI students) was difficult because I could not speak Kannada. The questions I asked were met with short English responses and I was unable to follow up in communication.
The actual website was also a concern for me. While I valued the format that allowed for future editing, I still believe that a website completely in English may be intimidating for English learners to utilize. Kannada-language supplementary modules or notes may have been helpful in this respect, but that isn't something that I was capable of implementing with my very limited Kannada knowledge. This may affect the website's future usability and overall effectiveness, which was a worry for me.
Overall, however, I overcame many of these challenges by pushing forward and have learned a lot in the process. One of my major takeaways from community engaged learning is the ability to think from a human-centric perspective. Thinking about the backgrounds of users and their comfort levels with the topics being introduced is necessary to create a product that will actually be used. I also learned how to admit that there were certain things that I couldn't do with perfection given the time constraints and my current knowledge. Still, this allowed me to reach outside my own expertise and rely on others'. Interacting face-to-face with the community members I was trying to serve was undoubtedly the best part of engaging in person, and my experience building these modules over the summer is one I will never forget. My website is currently published on the internet at this link.

Liana M. GH CHE'24, Shabbat in India: A Transformative Experience

At the Shravabelagola, 900-year old Jain temple. 

This past summer, I had the incredible privilege of traveling to India with a cohort of 10 other students to participate in Cornell’s Global Service Learning Initiative with the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement whose mission is to improve overall health and lifestyle conditions for the Indian populace. As a Human Biology, Health & Society major minoring in public health, I was excited about the prospect of learning about the nation’s culture and health care system and the possibility of making an impact and was thrilled to embark on one of the most incredible experiences of my life from an academic, professional and personal perspective.
But one thing was on my mind. As an observant Jew committed to the rituals of my faith, I have certain limitations prescribed by the Torah, our sacred divine text. For example, I maintain a strictly kosher diet which prohibits me from eating various foods and I further observe the Jewish Sabbath known as Shabbat which forbids certain types of conduct, including using technology such as my phone and computer or engaging in travel from Friday evening through Saturday night. To many, this seems unusually challenging and burdensome but it is something I’ve been doing my entire life and have come to greatly appreciate. Throughout my time at Cornell, my goal has been to maintain my religious commitment while simultaneously participating in all of the unique opportunities offered by our Cornell education.
I knew that this India trip would present a host of challenges in adherence to my religious faith and I was uncertain how I would navigate all of this during my stay. First, I would be residing in a country where there are only a handful of Jewish people among the broader Indian population which meant no access to synagogues or any kosher food products. Furthermore, I would have to explain to my cohort, program director and the SVYM staff my practices and explore ways to accommodate my faith within the structure of the program. It would mean that on Saturday, I would have to sit alone in the hostel without the use of any technology while the rest of the cohort traveled and conducted their normal activities. To make matters a bit more challenging, the two day holiday of Shavuot, which has similar restrictions as Shabbat, fell out during the first week of the program and started Saturday night which would mean I would be spending Friday night to Monday night alone in my room which I thought would drive me stir crazy. As I boarded my flight from JFK Airport in New York, I could feel pangs of anxiety wondering whether I could survive this anticipated challenge.
But to my surprise, this unique experience turned out to be particularly meaningful in ways that I could never anticipate. In particular, it forced me to reflect on a deeper level the meaning and reasons for my Sabbath observance and explain its significance to my cohort and others who had little familiarity with the details of my custom. When I first informed Donna Ramil, our program director, she embraced me with open arms and had me share with the entire cohort my practices and the significance of the Shabbat and the Shavuot holiday I was celebrating that day. I was expecting people to think my practices were somewhat bizarre but instead people had questions and I had deep discussions with cohort members and SVYM staff about the laws of Sabbath, a highly complex topic that even many observant Jews struggle to understand. The members of my cohort also demonstrated tremendous compassion and began helping me out without my knowledge or me even asking. My roommate would say “Hey Liana, it’s way too dark in the room. I’ll turn on the light for you!” and another cohort member said “Liana, I’ll hold your key when we go on a walk so you don’t have to carry it” because I had briefly explained to her that I am not supposed to carry on the Shabbat and to my surprise, she remembered. Another cohort member lent me a book that she thought I may like to read during my alone time which I greatly appreciated.
Thus, while there were certainly many aspects that were quite challenging about keeping Shabbat alone in India, I feel that I grew tremendously from dealing with the challenge in a meaningful fashion and through sharing my cultural traditions with those around me. I could honestly say that while my observance of the Shabbat in India was certainly different from my regular traditional observance which includes synagogue attendance and communal festive meals, it did ultimately provide me with a heightened appreciation of this weekly ritual and a new way to enjoy my religious day of rest. Sometimes appreciation comes from a place you least expect. SVYM was not only an amazing opportunity to learn about the culture and healthcare system in India but it turns out for me, also a place where I could renew and appreciate my understanding and observance of the Jewish biblical commandment of observance of the Shabbat. The incredible sensitivity and respect my cohort and others had for my cultural beliefs and practices also affirmed for me my decision to attend Cornell for my college education as it provides an environment of tolerance and respect for all those who make up our diverse student body.

Leio K. ILR ’23, Project : Standard Operating Procedures for Viveka Rural Livelihood Center

With mentors, Mr. Ramprasad (center) and Mr. MR. P.D. Nayak

This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to India for the ILR GSL Program and to work with Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, an NGO dedicated to bettering the livelihood capabilities for rural communities, tribal youth, and women. For my project, I worked with Mr. Ramprasad V and Mr. P.D. Nayak of the Socio-Economic Empowerment Program (SEEP) to create 5 standard operating procedures for Viveka Rural Livelihood Center. The goal of SEEP Program is to work towards the economic employment of the rural and tribal community through micro-level planning and to uplift their socio-economic conditions. The Livelihood Center has the vision of providing training to unemployed youth and women in the local area, and it is a hub of various vocational training, with several satellite locations in Karnataka State.

The SOPs that I created this past summer cover the entire process of the SEEP Program, starting from community mobilization, followed by admissions, training, on-the-job training, and lastly, alumni engagement. They outlined the necessary steps to successfully execute each task and maintain the high quality of their training programs. Community mobilization is the process of identifying the right candidate for the training courses from neighboring communities; admissions it the process of admitting candidates into the training programs; training is the process of helping students adjust to their new lifestyle and creating a sense of community; placement is the process of putting students into jobs; and alumni engagement is the process of creating a strong network where prospective and current students can reach out to ask any questions.

During my time in India, I had the opportunity to visit the Kenchanahalli site twice and meet with Mr. Ramprasad to discuss the project, see some of the training programs, and meet with the English-speaking students, the fashion students, and some of the staff at the site. Once I returned to the United States, I met with my mentor twice a week to stay updated on my tasks, and also continue to establish a strong relationship and open communication. After finishing the SOPs, I began to conduct research on other livelihood centers around the world to find any similarities or differences between their outcomes and goals. After conducting this research, I presented several recommendations for the improvement of the SEEP program that may be implemented in the near future.

 
Overall, I had an unforgettable experience working with SVYM and spending time on the SVYM campus. I am very grateful to have been able to travel this year and see some of the cultural sites of Mysore, such as the Mysuru Palace, Devaraja Market, and Sri Chamundeshwari Tayi Gudi. Beyond the project experience, I am so thankful to have had an incredibly kind, supportive, and loving cohort who are now my good friends at Cornell.

 

Abigail G. GH CHE'23, Project: SVYM Palliative Care study on Burnout in Care Providers

This summer, I had the incredible opportunity to work with SVYM at the palliative care center. Palliative care focuses on providing a holistic approach to caregiving for terminal illnesses by meeting the physical, psychological, economic, social and spiritual needs of each patient. SVYM provides home based care and institutional care in Mysore, and home based care in Hassan and Dharwad. I was grateful to have multiple chances to spend the day at the Mysore palliative care center interacting with the workers and seeing their day to day interactions with patients. Amazingly, I also spent one day with the home based care team visiting patients’ homes. I got to see first hand how much of an impact the SVYM team is making on not just the patients but their families.

My project focused on measuring burnout among the health care providers in palliative care. This involved working with the palliative care team at SVYM to survey all the health care professionals and assess their burnout levels using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. I then analyzed my results and concluded that workers in both institutional and home based care were most at risk for high levels of emotional exhaustion and low levels of personal accomplishment. Workplace has significant association with burnout symptoms, which is something that can be addressed while providing group interventions.
Overall, this experience has been so meaningful to me. I have grown personally, educationally, and culturally. I want to thank everyone involved for making this experience so life changing.

Cianna H. ILR'23, Project: HR Recruitment Processes at SVYM

This summer I had the amazing opportunity to participated in the ILR India Global Service-Learning Program and travel to Mysuru, India to visit SVYM. I worked closely with my mentor Mr. Mahesh and the Human Resources Department on my project which was to develop a comprehensive framework for HR assessments of candidates in order to standardize the recruitment process. Currently, SVYM has over 700 employees who work across Karnataka State and the organization is expanding as they serve more people.

 
Before I started my project, I was able to meet with both Mr. Mahesh and Dr. Vishwas, the head of HR, in person to get an overview of what my project would entail and expectations. The first component of my project I worked on the job posting templates which should effectively and accurately communicate what a position entails to attract talent and applicants fit for the role. I edited the SVYM job posting template using research on what key elements should be included and how it should be formatted. Then I worked on standardizing the HR interview questions for both external and internal candidates to ensure that candidates are being asked the same questions and interviewed impartially regardless of who is on the interview panel. HR interviews are used to gauge individuals (what their strengths are, whether they would be a good fit for the organization, etc.) and without a specific set of questions each interview may go in different directions, making it hard to truly compare candidates and make decisions for hiring. I started by researching what interviews should assess and good questions used to make these assessments. I then compiled a list a long list of questions for both internal and external candidates and created separate grading rubrics for each question to standardize the scores given by the interview panel. Lastly, I created an internal flowchart from the recruitment process to onboarding. Having this step-by-step visual breakdown allows the team to easily identify workflow issues if there are any, figure out what areas can improve, highlight efficiency, and where changes should be made. I was given an overview of the steps in their recruitment process, and I then used LucidCharts to piece together the flowchart.

 
I have learned and grown so much this summer, both professionally and personally. I expanded my knowledge and understanding of about the HR recruitment process as my project covered all aspects of recruitment and I also learned how to use LucidChart to create flowcharts. I also learned a lot from cross-cultural and international virtual collaboration and communication as it was definitely an adjustment transitioning from working in person in India to working virtual from home. The different classes we took at the SVYM Vivekananda Institute of Leadership Development in India were not only extremely interesting and engaging but also enrichened my experience in India as I was often able to apply or extend what we learned in class to our different work site visits and to better understand SVYM’s work and role in the community. I also enjoyed learning about Indian culture and exploring different cultural sites in Mysuru. I am so incredibly grateful for this summer and would like to thank SVYM, the India GSL team, and my cohort for this incredible experience.

Samantha C. GH, CALS'24, Research Project: Covid 19 Vaccination Hesitancy

Samantha with mentor, Dr. Deepak.

With second mentor, Mr. Guru.

This past summer I had the pleasure of working with SVYM, Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, on a research paper about COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy among rural and elderly populations in Nelamangala, Bangalore. This project was spearheaded by SVYM’S Bangalore unit and my mentor Dr. Deepak Murthy. I was able to meet both Dr. Deepak and Mr. Guru, another mentor, in Bangalore and got to see the day-to-day operations. From vocational training classes centered on building your own business to a women’s small business centered on ragi products, I was impressed by the number of programs that SVYM had built with the local community to make the town prosper.

For my project, I worked with Dr. Deepak and Mr. Guru to write a research paper based on a vaccination drive performed early in the year. The vaccination drive addressed the vaccination hesitancy in the area, so I was able to analyze the trends in the corresponding survey answers that these participators took. The process for writing the paper involved literature review, where I had to find and read several papers related to my topic. Then I used this research to draft the background and significance of the research. The research also made it clear that there were gaps in knowledge about vaccination hesitancy among certain populations. After drafting, I met with my mentors for a round of revision. This process was repeated for the methods, results, discussion, and conclusion sections. For each section, it was challenging for me to get all the tiny details used in the methodology and the results because I did not really understand the statistical analysis. However, my mentor was always willing to help acknowledge any concerns or gaps that I had.

I learned so much throughout this experience, from time management to intercultural competency, I gained a valuable set of skills that help me grow into a more mature and independent individual. I improved my professional written skills while writing the paper as well as my adaptability skills. I am extremely grateful that I was able to partake in this incredible program. I hope to continue my partnership with SVYM. I encourage other students to look into the India GSL program because it was truly lifechanging.