Hello! My name is Kamala Karuppiah! I am majoring in Industrial Labor Relations and minoring in Global Health. In the summer of 2023, after my freshman year, I was very fortunate to be able to work with SVYM to explore the intersection of WASH and socio-economic empowerment. I worked under the mentorship of Dr. Dennis Chauhan, Head of the Socio-economic Empowerment Program of SVYM.
As part of the program, I was able to learn about the two-year pilot intervention done by SVYM in Raichur, Karnataka. This intervention encourages women in tribal communities and underprivileged communities to make self-help groups to earn cash through entrepreneurship. Simultaneously, these businesses help the greater community sustain water quality and sanitation, and encourage proper hygiene practices and maintenance. I was able to help create drafts of a process document and diagrams which will contribute to a report that will recommend policy to the state government, emphasizing the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs of tribal women. This report will encourage the replication of this successful intervention in other parts of Karnataka. Generating these process documents and infographics, helped me learn valuable skills like data analysis, research methodology, and project documentation. As a part of my research, I conducted a brief literature review on financing WASH, government and international policies, and the water supply chain in India.
I also conducted informal interviews with tribal women in self-help groups which are summarized as a field report. I met with self-help groups in Sargur (in-person) and Raichur (virtually). These amazing women navigate and manage small businesses and factories. These women inspire so many including other women in their community and of course their own children, especially young girls. These entrepreneurs navigate oil factories, sell hygiene products, maintain government infrastructures that sanitize water, and encourage toilet usage, among many other activities all while simultaneously making money for their families. I was also able to go to schools around the Mysore area where they inaugurated new hand-washing stations and bathrooms. These schools ensure that these young students learn the importance of hand washing and hygiene.
I am honored to have been given the opportunity to observe the great work that SVYM does for the greater community. I am very grateful to learn from esteemed SVYM staff, doctors, tribal women, self-help groups, teachers, and school administrators about water sustainability and entrepreneurship. I was overwhelmed by the amount of love, care, and passion that everyone had for me and each other. Thank you again to Ms. Donna Ramil, Ms. Sri Ravisankar, Ms. Hanni Wiegand, Dr. Rekha, Dr. Dennis, and everyone else who made this experience truly remarkable and unforgettable.
