What stood out to me the most while in India was the resiliency of the people. At a glance, it is difficult to look past the poverty, living conditons, and shock factors such as children begging on the streets. Although, these are all serious social justice issues there is another side of the Indian people; which I feel so fortunate to have seen. They are strong and true survivors. They have an incredible ability to make something out of nothing regardless of the circumstances. They are able to accomplish this while also finding some form of happiness in their lives.
This was the most evident to me when we visited what is considered the "largest slum in Asia." During this experience, I was initially shocked with the living conditions people endured in this slum. However, as we visited LEARN, Upcykal, and walked around the slum I began to see something else. I observed a functioning community filled with big and small enterprises and support networks. People were working and surviving.
As a result, my perspective regarding the Inidan people began to shift. I moved away from focusing on themes that victimized and pathologized people and began to see their potential for further growth. By acknowledging their strenghts I felt like I was in a better position, as a social worker, to actually start thinking about the process of social change. The contrary was just to overwhelming and seemed to revolve around feeling sad for people; which really isn't all that productive or helpful to the target population. Therefore, during the course of the trip I pushed myself to see the strengths in the people and community and how these could be leveraged to promote a greater wellbeing for poor.
Through this strengths-based perspective, I observed Indian people to be: welcoming/ friendly, community/ family oriented, and resourceful to name a few. These strenghts can all be leveraged to form grassroots efforts to being the process of change and empowerment. For instance, the community/ family orientation of the people enables them to come together as a team in order to produce mutual benefits. The micro finance program is a great example of this. Whereas, a group of women comes together as collateral for one an other in order to take out loans. In this process women take responsiblity of one an other to pay back small loans which they would otherwise not qualife for. In turn these loans help to imporve health, education, and livelihood conditions for all involved parties. These strengths are powerful and have the potential to affect change in marginalized communities on larger scales.
It was also interesting to see how our culture in the United States varies from that here in India. One of the things that struck me the most was the sense of a collective identity that exists in India. It is a result of collectivism that numerous social change programs are able to function here and not necessarly in the United States. For example, the concept of micro finance is successful in India as a result of the collective and supportive identity that women are able to form. Meanwhile, in the United States it is difficult to replicate this sense of collective identity and support system. This is mainly due to the great emphasis on individuality in the United States and beliefs that one should "pull themselves up by their own boot straps."
Overall, my time in India has reinforced and hightened my ability to adopt a strengths based approach. I don't mean to say that the negative should be ingnored but instead to look at what can be done within the means of the community/ client to make a positive impact on the quality of their lives.
I attended the UPC and City Center campuses for the COPA concentration. I graduated in the spring of 2014.
This was the most evident to me when we visited what is considered the "largest slum in Asia." During this experience, I was initially shocked with the living conditions people endured in this slum. However, as we visited LEARN, Upcykal, and walked around the slum I began to see something else. I observed a functioning community filled with big and small enterprises and support networks. People were working and surviving.
As a result, my perspective regarding the Inidan people began to shift. I moved away from focusing on themes that victimized and pathologized people and began to see their potential for further growth. By acknowledging their strenghts I felt like I was in a better position, as a social worker, to actually start thinking about the process of social change. The contrary was just to overwhelming and seemed to revolve around feeling sad for people; which really isn't all that productive or helpful to the target population. Therefore, during the course of the trip I pushed myself to see the strengths in the people and community and how these could be leveraged to promote a greater wellbeing for poor.
Through this strengths-based perspective, I observed Indian people to be: welcoming/ friendly, community/ family oriented, and resourceful to name a few. These strenghts can all be leveraged to form grassroots efforts to being the process of change and empowerment. For instance, the community/ family orientation of the people enables them to come together as a team in order to produce mutual benefits. The micro finance program is a great example of this. Whereas, a group of women comes together as collateral for one an other in order to take out loans. In this process women take responsiblity of one an other to pay back small loans which they would otherwise not qualife for. In turn these loans help to imporve health, education, and livelihood conditions for all involved parties. These strengths are powerful and have the potential to affect change in marginalized communities on larger scales.
It was also interesting to see how our culture in the United States varies from that here in India. One of the things that struck me the most was the sense of a collective identity that exists in India. It is a result of collectivism that numerous social change programs are able to function here and not necessarly in the United States. For example, the concept of micro finance is successful in India as a result of the collective and supportive identity that women are able to form. Meanwhile, in the United States it is difficult to replicate this sense of collective identity and support system. This is mainly due to the great emphasis on individuality in the United States and beliefs that one should "pull themselves up by their own boot straps."
Overall, my time in India has reinforced and hightened my ability to adopt a strengths based approach. I don't mean to say that the negative should be ingnored but instead to look at what can be done within the means of the community/ client to make a positive impact on the quality of their lives.
I attended the UPC and City Center campuses for the COPA concentration. I graduated in the spring of 2014.
Thank you for the interesting article.The three most important areas on which you need to focus to make your parents be confident about your study abroad plans is- your safety, your money managing skills, a well knitted connection with family and friends back home.
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