INTERNS 2 INDIA

It’s confirmed, I definitely have found the field that I want to work in for the rest of my life. Since I have been in India, my passion for international nutrition has grown even bigger. It is so relieving and exciting to feel like you know what you want to do for the rest of your . . . → Read More: Forever Inspired

Coming to India I anticipated meeting new people and having unique experiences, in fact that’s what attracted me to the opportunity, however, I hadn’t imagined I would somehow end up playing the part of tour guide and GRAVIS spokesman for a group of students from Afghanistan.  Somehow though, that is exactly what happened last week.  The . . . → Read More: An Afternoon with the Afghans

Lest you think all our time here is spent either behind a desk or on a site visit, I thought I would post a short narrative about one of our weekends away.  India, as the Ministry of Tourism so pointedly notes in their advertising, is incredible.  For an American, a tour through India is an exploration . . . → Read More: Here there be Tigers

Education and empowerment is one of the most powerful ways to influence change. Education and empowerment has the extraordinary ability to enable people to take control of their lives and decide what direction their future and the world’s future goes in.

Children congregate on the steps of a GRAVIS school

This concept has become more . . . → Read More: Hunger Education= Changing the Future?

One of the most unique aspects of GRAVIS is its decentralized approach to program management and its support of individual initiative.  When we arrived a month ago we were broadly tasked with various projects and since then we have largely been left to ourselves to  not only see them through but to determine their scope and . . . → Read More: GRAVIS Promo: take 1

After visiting hospitals in other developing countries, I expected the hospital in Jodhpur to be similar; similar in the sense that it would be dirty, overcrowded and unorganized.

To my surprise, the hospital in Jodhpur was exactly the opposite. I spent two days shadowing and observing the doctors at the Umaid, women children’s hospital. I was most . . . → Read More: Solutions for treatment of malnourished children

So what do I do day-to-day? The “deep” answer; learn.  The more accurate, but longer, answer; try and establish an understanding of the health needs of, and current system of care for, elderly populations in rural western Rajasthan so as to design a study capable of furthering comprehensive, age friendly healthcare policies.  I’ve been at it . . . → Read More: So, really, what are you doing there?

Date: Friday 6/24/2011

Location: New Delhi

Lesson Learned:  never underestimate the potential of alumni relationships

A couple of months ago, on her way to the ACHE congress in Chicago, 2002 MHA graduate Kavita Narayan stopped by the Gillings school to give a brief presentation on healthcare in India.  Her work in health systems development with the Public Health Foundation . . . → Read More: A conversation with Dr. Seem

Last week we got to visit the big Maternal and Child hospital in Jodhpur, it was an inspirational and eye opening experience.

The doctors were very welcoming and really wanted to teach us about all the work that they do. These doctors that we met were truly some of the most extraordinary people, they see hundreds of . . . → Read More: Trying to keep a baby alive

On the invitation of our recent acquaintance Dr. Azad, we returned to Umaid hospital to talk to clinicians about the issues faced by rural Rajasthanis.  One of the first doctors we met, Dr. Manish Parakh, is a pediatric neurologist who runs a once-a-week walk in clinic at the hospital.   As such a unique specialist Dr. Parakh . . . → Read More: A sad story