I have been here for two days...knowing i will be committed to the project for several months, hopefully generating a thesis.
...It is difficult to form a pinhole around Gram Vikas (www.gramvikas.org), the group I will be involved with, forgetting everything else. ...Often so-called projects become too isolated and turn into ego traps, instead of genuine help.
Thankfully the group is so intimately involved with the communities it helps, that it doesn't see development as projects...rather more as a process.
The second micro hydro will be installed in the next two weeks. Very anxious to meet the tribal communities. It is amazing what my Australian predecessor (whom i'll shadow for a few weeks) has been able to do with the energy program, specifically with micro hydro development.
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I'm a Canadian medical student who will be working in Ladakh this summer and perhaps Nepal if it is safe. There are so many organizations creating projects like yours and mine (I'll be with the Himalayan Health Exchange), and it makes it hard to know if such a fractured collection of organizations are really doing a 'good job.' When looking into NGOs to work with, one of the major features I looked at was their sustainability. Was this a once-only initiative or has it been maintained over many years? Is there co-operation with the local health authorities? Are ethics of cross-cultural care important or are Western ideals imposed with little regard for local mores?
Fortunately, I found a group that answered these questions in the way I thought such a group should. I hope that because of these features, it will be very much like your experience: a strong connection with the local community and a team that works enthusiastically together.
Best wishes for your work there.
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