Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement

For about one week in the middle of my trip, I will have the privilege to step away from my position at the Public Health Foundation of India in New Delhi and head down to the southern part of the country to observe the work an Indian NGO, the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement. It is an organization founded in 1984 engaged in building a new civil society through grassroots action in the health, education, and community development sectors. Over the course of its twenty year existence, it has brought "light and life and health and happiness to hundreds of thousands of displaced, dispossessed and disempowered men, women, and children, particularly in the tribal and rural belts." I'm excited for this leg of my trip because not only will I be able to experience another part of the country, but also because I will be able to get a different perspective on the sector of health and its effect on people.

I'm very excited to work with this organization because its history reflects something that I feel is very important when it comes to providing healthcare for the marginalized and poor. Originally, the organization was founded to provide healthcare to the disadvantaged in rural south India. However, as the doctors realized that solving the people's medical problems was merely the first step in improving their quality of life, further initiatives were created and the organization's services were broadened. For me, this reflects the important principle that curing people's medical conditions cannot be the sole objective for helping the poor. In the end, economic development and opportunity are going to be the avenues through which people's lives will be enhanced, and this organization recognized this need early and has since implemented many initiatives in the areas of education and community development.