Sum Res Cogitans – I think, therefore I am.

We sat in a large circle in the seminar room of the DCSE building. It was my first day in Hubli. “Desh” Deshpande was there with his wife, Jaishree, too. For most of us, this was our first time in India and we didn’t know quite what to expect. The room was starting to fill with anxiety and it was apparent from our faces. Desh sat a few chairs down from his wife in a seat directly in front of the stage– it was the perfect spot. He was the boss, the one running the Deshpande show. Softly smiling and examining the room, he looked around and asked us three simple questions: What is your name? Where are you from? And, why are you here? One by one, we went around the room. The first two questions were simple. But surprisingly nobody answered his third question– nobody! Most answers to the third question sounded something like this: “The project I’m working on this summer is…” Maybe it was the pressure of being in a large room full of people or maybe it was that no one had anything powerful and provocative to say, but we all defaulted to a question he never asked– What are you doing here? Looking back on it now, the best answer to his third question was just as simple as the first two– to learn.

And that’s what our team did this summer. We learned and saw a lot- that, by far, was our biggest success. The fact that we were able to experience India through four different sectors provided us with a well-balanced and fair understanding of some of the biggest challenges faced in this country. The raw information we collected in the areas of Education, Agriculture, Health, and Livelihood was captivating, eye opening, and at times shocking. With that information, we were able to accomplish the following tasks:

• Interviews: six NGOs, three government officials, two journalists, four doctors, and one politician
• Field visits: five village visits, three school visits, and a visit to Karnataka University
• Footage: 20 hours of footage
• Videos: two videos completed (education, agriculture) and one in process (health)
• Documents: Developing Challenge Videos Manual, Sangha Process Flow Diagram

There were many obstacles along the way. From delayed and postponed interviews to illnesses within the team, we experienced a range of impeding challenges that constantly tested our ability to stay poised. Initially, our biggest challenge arose when we discovered we didn’t have a way to offload video from the camera and onto our hard drive for editing. After a week of getting the run-around at local tech shops with faulty and nonexistent computer equipment, we discovered that a colleague had the ability to transfer the data via his laptop. Challenge #1, solved. The next challenge, and undoubtedly the most significant challenge, was getting our web platform developed. The feasibility of our project’s biggest component was essentially an unknown for weeks until we were able to develop a relationship with a qualified web developer. After making a connection through a DF staffer, we were able to make a trip out to Bangalore, meet with the development team, discuss our design, and create a timeline for final delivery. I’m happy to say the website is now in the process of being built.

Even with all the setbacks, the experience this summer was incredible and full of many lessons gathered along the way. My time in India has taught me just how important patience and communication are when working in a foreign country. And working with such a diverse group of people from many different backgrounds has exposed me to others' talents, skills, experiences, and knowledge. And if I can be remotely honest with myself, I know there’s still a lot more to be learned.

-Zlatan

India kills creativity and collaboration–both mentally and physically

The Deshpande Center for Social Entrepreneurship or DCSE (pictured above) has –over the course of the last six weeks– become my home away from home, my office, and the reason I and nine other USC students have come to India. Started in 1996 by Gururaj and Jaishree Deshpande, the Deshpande Foundation is one of the world’s foremost philanthropic organizations dedicated to social change through innovation, entrepreneurship, and international development. As “innovators” for the Foundation’s 2010 Global Exchange Program, my university colleagues and I have partnered up in teams to design projects we are currently implementing this summer in the “Sandbox” region of Karnataka.

Given the Deshpande Foundation’s vision for development and innovation through global exchange, it should be by no surprise then that the DCSE building itself is innovative– architecturally speaking. Located at the southern end of the BVB College of Engineering and Technology, the home of the Deshpande Foundation utilizes unique form, expanding space, and a varied palette of construction materials. Don’t get me wrong, the building is by no means an architectural wonder. But with its distinct design concept and construction methodology, along with its 10,000 liter rainwater harvesting system and extensive stormwater management, the DCSE is by far the most innovative building on campus.

What does this have to do with anything, you might ask? Well, first let me ask you this. Do you think it’s a mere coincidence that the organization most preaching innovation is the one with the most innovative building? It’s no coincidence. The Deshpandes clearly had a vision. They understood that physically taking an individual out of a literal “box” building was the first and most important step in helping that person to start thinking outside the box i.e. thinking innovatively or creatively. Quite simply, they “encourage” us – whether we know it or not – to be innovative by making the environment around us innovative. Think about it, it makes sense! With that said, very few things exist outside of the Deshpande Foundation in India that encourage creativity, imagination, or innovation.

I have just briefly discussed this issue from a physical perspective, but let’s take a look at it using both categories: mental constraints vs physical constraints to creativity in India.


Mental Constraints

Take India’s primary education system, for example. Like education in the U.S or in other western countries, India rewards its students for memorization. Like us, they too have quizzes and exams that test their students’ ability to memorize things they have either read or learned in class. But unlike the U.S., India doesn’t offer subjective learning- mainly in the form of art. Drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and many other creativity-demanding activities don’t exist in India’s primary school curriculums, whether public or private. Walk into a classroom here and you won’t see any of the children’s artwork hanging around the classroom. Why? Because they don’t do it.

“Why is it that no original research is being done in India?” asked Dr. Sanjeev Kulkarni, a practicing gynecologist and founder of Baala Balaga, a progressive Indian school located in the nearby city of Dharwad. Dr. Kulkarni decided to start his own “school” – from the front room of his house– for his young son after seeing the limits India’s education system places on students. Now in its 14th year, Baala Balaga (www.baalabalaga.org) has grown into a legitimate school composed of three building complexes and roughly 500 students. Here, the belief is in learn by doing, where activities like drawing, cooking, and sports are an integral part of the curriculum just like mathematics and science. For Dr. Kulkarni, these types of nonconventional activities sometimes offer the same value, if not more value, over the course of child’s life than traditional school topics.

Baala Balaga is not the only school with this type of unique philosophy. The Blue School (http://www.theblueschool.org/) in lower Manhattan offers a similar approach to learning where creativity, collaboration, and play are vital to a child’s learning process. In a similar story (http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html), Ken Robinson explains the limits traditional schools place on the imagination and how they kill creativity in children rather than foster it. Mental constraints aren’t the only killers of creativity. Physical constraints are there also.


Physical Constraints

I’d like to talk about physical constraints for creativity in India on two levels, the building level (individual) and the city level (societal). I talk about these constraints from the perspective of human collaboration–the foundation of our team’s project this summer. To understand this, we’ll first have to agree on two things: human interaction is a prerequisite of human collaboration and human collaboration advances human imagination.

Individual, or building level constraints apply more to small groups, such as families or classrooms of students. Going back to India’s education system, the physical design, or lack thereof, of schools and classrooms greatly puts students at a disadvantage to be imaginative and interactive. If you can recall my earlier argument about the design of the DCSE building and how literally being inside an actual “box” presumably traps a person from thinking outside the box…..then you’ll understand my problem when I say the design of nearly every public and private classrooms that I’ve seen in India- with the exception of Dr. Kulkarni’s classrooms- is in the form of an enclosed box that isolates students from one another. With steel bars on the windows, the rooms look more like prison cells than classrooms. Where’s the creativity in that?

Moreover, public schools don’t provide the basic infrastructure for children to learn, let alone be creative. About three weeks ago, my team and I did a ride-along with the education NGO Agastya to a local government school. To my surprise, the children had to sit on the concrete floor because there weren’t enough chairs. There weren’t enough tables or books either. We later learned that the children neither had a suitable toilet nor clean drinking water; to use the bathroom, they had to go to nearby fields, and to get water, they used a pond across the road. As they later told us, all they really wanted was a proper playground to play with one another.

Have you (referring to my USC colleagues) ever asked yourself what purpose the courtyard in our Scholars House serves? Is it just for natural light and ventilation? Is it simply a garden for plants? Or was it meant to be something more? If you haven’t noticed, our Indian neighbors on the second floor have placed plastic chairs around the perimeter of the courtyard; they sit there and talk. Why? Because they want to use the courtyard. They want to be able to sit and interact with each other and the other people living here. They want this to be their playground. Think about it and ask yourself this: does the design of this courtyard- or the schools that we’ve visited for that matter- encourage interaction?

The physical design of the city is just as unresolved when it comes to human interaction in my opinion. Like our courtyard, the major issue with Hubli lies with the use, or nonuse, of its streets and public open spaces. Wait, let me back up for a second. Public open spaces don’t even exist in Hubli! Other than the one public park that I’ve been to in this city–which was, keep in mind, so warmly inviting with its six foot tall steel gate blocking pedestrians from freely coming in–the closest thing you’ll get to a public open space in Hubli is the crowded downtown market. Yes, the surrounding streets support high levels of pedestrian traffic, but it’s chaotic and there’s nowhere to sit. I have to stand to drink my coconut or eat my ice cream, while keeping one eye on the road so not to get run over by a bus. Streets here, and in most other Indian cities, rarely offer spaces of stasis–areas to just sit and observe the human experience, the daily routine, or the “social drama” of the city as Lewis Mumford so eloquently once put it. Time spent in this city seems more like a constant scatter of empty experiences, waiting to be realized. Interaction on these streets is sparse and swift at best- often with little or no substance. Even with all the curiosity and interest that I and my friends attract, we rarely interact with people on the street. Can you remember the last time you had a fruitful conversation with a stranger on the street? With 1.2 million people, the twin cities of Hubli-Dharwad offer some of the densest and least pedestrian-friendly streets I have set foot on. And from what I've seen, quality human interaction is missing here. Yet we wonder where the community involvement is? Where is the collective living?!

Hypothetically speaking now, just imagine for a second what Hubli could look like if streets connected activity-rich public spaces that actually brought people together for a purpose, like well-planned parks or plazas. Imagine outdoor shops and restaurants that incorporated dance performances, festivals, and Indian weddings, bringing different parts of the community together. Who’s to say it's not possible? I’m not saying I have the solution. But what I do know is that Hubli’s current physical and mental formwork suppresses the two most essential elements of growth: creativity and collaboration.

Albert Einstein once famously said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” Unfortunately in Hubli, imagination is rare and difficult find. But luckily for my teammates and I this summer, creativity and collaboration shouldn’t be our issue. Because if Wikipedia is our model for collaboration and the rest of the world is our imagination, I can’t wait to see the attractions life has in store for Hubli!

-Zlatan

When Two Tylenol Won't Cut It

My introduction to Hubli has come with a bag of mixed emotions. In my short time here I've struggled to wrap my head around the sheer complexity of a culture so foreign to my own. In a place full of oxymorons, as one DF staffer referred to it, Hubli has certainly left me grappling to make sense of the dissonance around me. At one moment, it is an experience of unmatched excitement and intrigue, but at the next, it's stressful, anxiety-inducing and down-right befuddling.

I've had people out of the kindness of their heart offer me a ride across town in their car, while I can't seem to get a vacant auto to drive me 2km when offering to pay a 50% premium over the local rate.

People have taken me into their homes for a freshly cooked meal, emblematizing the mantra that "guests are god," and cooking with love and a sense of family, regardless of cultural differences, while restaurants engage in the bait-and-switch of menu pricing bleeding any goodwill or repeat patronage.

In business school, they stress how important India is becoming in the global economy. And when you meet with the business folks and NGO leaders you see why. These are brilliant, accomplished folks, some of the brightest I've met, with an unyielding passion and an unstoppable sense of mission and purpose. But you contrast that with the army of seven men who came into my bedroom to check if the water was working. SEVEN guys to turn on a faucet! Where's the business savvy in that?

My challenges with Hubli are part of the physical and mental adjustments of living in a new place. It's an exercise in patience, listening and understanding. While I have long way to go before I can get my finger on the pulse of my temporary new home, there are things that are unmistakably matters of fact:

• the food is amazingly good (and cheap)
• the mangos are heavenly (er, nirvanaly?)
• double yellow lines? where we're going, we don't need double yellow lines.
• nonprofit organizations from around the world could take a lesson from the ngos here
• government bureaucracy by comparison makes capitol hill look like a well oiled machine
• if there was an international staring competition, hubli would win hands down
• the rural village people are beyond gracious
• bellbottoms and jeans with 17 pockets are in fashion
• they don't dance in Hubli, they extreme-dance in Hubli
• on time? (favorite quote - "He'll be with you at 12."::"But sir, its already 12:20."::"Ma'am, this is India.")
  

My time here has been amazing, but not without its challenges. Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out. Sometimes I just want to pump my fist in anger. But sometimes, you just need to laugh and remember we're not in Kansas anymore.

-Jesse

Some Random Thoughts...

Now, I mean no disrespect when I write this.. but India can drive a person crazy. It is certainly a country of extremes; from the most minute detail to overwhelming stereotypes. For example, tastes and flavors... the sweets are pure sugar; the savory items, pure salt. The spice is legendary. The sounds...car horns, engines rumbling, trains, cows, birds, aunties yelling, all work together to form a cacophony of intense proportions. The disparity between the rich and poor can be seen in the hollow eyes of disabled beggars disregarded by the paunchy businesspeople of the burgeoning middle class. The gender roles are overtly apparent; women are portrayed as lustful, powerful objects in movies but cannot even sit among the men who drink in bars. At the very least, these establishments could broadcast sports (i.e. the World Cup games) in the “family sections,” where we lady-folk have to sit. But I digress... my point here is that actually getting work done in such an overwhelming environment is difficult. But, if you don’t take the time to consciously relax, breath, and laugh at the ridiculousness of your situation, you will certainly fall victim to stress and panic attacks. Maybe this is why India is the birthplace of meditation...

The sensory extremes and social contradictions are what make work here hilarious (or, if you haven’t meditated, extremely annoying). For example, we remarked at how this economy is one of the fastest growing in the world but still workers take 2 hour lunches, offices are inconsistently open, meetings are never on time, broken sidewalks show us glimpses of partially-open sewers, and the issue of open defecation has yet to be solved. I’m beginning to think that many problems we view as systemic are, in fact, policy issues. Perhaps not at the policy-making level, but more so at the implementation level. An office manager at the Block Education Office nervously laughed, smiled, and shrugged when we asked him where all the money allocated for the government schools goes; a subtle nod to some inconsistencies in the system.

Our first goal is to accurately document the biggest challenges faced by NGOs and local governments in this region. This is proving to be an interesting feat for our team. Although the need for development is greatly publicized, many people are reluctant to admit that there are serious issues and inconsistencies in the area. My take-away from all this is that it’s going to take some serious tenacity and digging on our part to unearth some of the root causes of the income gap, poor public education, inadequate access to healthcare, and lack of income-generating opportunities. True, we cannot expect to change the way social policy is shaped here... but we can work together to address issues that policy alone cannot resolve.

Here is a little test-video I made to practice editing... all the footage is from our flip-cams (graciously loaned out by the Stevens Institute). Apologies for the shaky video!

~ Saru

Settling in Hubli

Hubli is surprisingly developed in comparison to some of the places I traveled in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The main road is paved. There are occasional strips of sidewalks. There are actual bus stands with headcovers. Settling in Hubli was not difficult at all after two weeks of intense traveling. It was nice to put able to put down our heavy packs and unpack our clothes in the closets.

The three-day orientation was very rigorous and extremely helpful in becoming acclimated to the area. The site visits were definitely the highlights of the three days. I was extremely impressed the organizations and their missions. As Saru already mentioned in her blog, the organizations were creative in their solutions to social issues in this region. Also, we met with the founder of Deshpande Foundation. He was a kind man with a lot of knowledge of incubating knowledge and creating an environment to foster creative leadership and a heart of social entrepreneurship. To be able to meet the man to make it possible for us to pursue our projects in Hubli was a honor and we realized that we have an important responsibility to make sure our project is sustainable and impactful.

One of the most important aspects of this trip to India is to connect with the local community. I looked forward to staying in Hubli because I want to develop trust and rapport with the individuals with the closest knowledge to the pain points of this region. Also, the rapport allows me to feel closer to this country instead of simply being an outsider looking into a fishbowl. I felt like I am an active participant in this community. Sometimes when I wear my Indian clothes and eat Indian food, I just want to simply appreciate that I am in India and I have the opportunity to test out our crowdsourcing concept.

On the flip side, settling in Hubli has not been completely smooth sailing. Last night, I felt discriminated against for my gender for the first time. Although I have experienced gender differences in other countries, I have never been so blatantly disrespected. We went to the a local restaurant, Piccolo, as a group last night. All the male GIP-ers were sitting in one table and the girls were split into two other tables. We were sitting in the ladies & family section which was acceptable. We were told that it happens in India to keep women away from men who are drinking and smoking. I can accept that. But when the guys were served food and we were for over an hour, that is unacceptable. In the end, we left the restaurant without eating the food that never came and went to another restaurant. I understand that we need to adapt to the culture to gain trust and build rapport. However, there are certain instances when one should stand her ground and this was one of those occasion. I don't intend on pushing my feminist tendencies on other people. I have no objections to the traditional role of a woman; many women embraced that care giver role. However, I don't believe that I should "get used to" being treated as lesser-than men in this country.

India - Little Crises and Little Victories

I have been in India for over two weeks now. I arrived in Chennai International Airport, which was a disappointment, on May 24th then I flew to the Andaman Islands to complete my Advanced PADI Open Water certification. There was a great deal of anticipation and anxiety; I was in India by myself for three days. I was navigating through the Chennai airport and immediately had my personal space invaded while waiting in line to check in for my flight to Port Blair. It was India. After I completed my dive course, I returned to Chennai Airport to meet up with Zlatan and Candice, fellow Global Impact-ers. We were going to traveling South India to see the major sights before starting the program in Hubli. The picture above is one of us in the crowded unreserved section of the train from Pondicherry to Trichy. It was one of the rawest experience. People were piled up everywhere from the people lying and sitting on the ground to people up in the luggage racks.

Despite our crazy train ride, there was a silver lining. We were met with kindness on the train. A family helped put my giant backpacker backpack underneath their seats. Traveling through Tamil Nadu, I was treated with far more

kindness than any other countries I have ever been to. When we wandered around Madurai's bus stand looking for our bus to Kumily, a stranger came to helped us. He went out of his way to show us the correct bus and before we could thank him, he disappeared into the crowd of people and exhaust. We relied on the kindness of strangers everyday especially with the language barrier. Every small act of kindness whether it is a kind smile from a stranger on a bus or a wave from children draws me closer to India and the people here.

From Tamil Nadu, we entered Kerala, nicknamed God's Own Country for its beauty. In Kerala, we were brought closer to the locals when we did a village tour of the backwater. The humble home of Anthony reminded me of my grandmother's home in Hong Kong. It was a tattered little place before it was renovated. The progress of our children is built upon the hard work of our parents and grandparents. Anthony told us about his two daughters who were studying to be nurses and his son who is in university. In Kochi, I was speaking to a fisherman. He told me about his work and his family. The Chinese fishing nets were usually worked by six men. 30% of the profit goes to the owner of the fishing net and the remaining profit was shared among the six men. The average profit per day (of low season and high season) was 500 rupees; it is 25 rupees per person a day. It ended up being about $17 USD a month. It amazed me that a family can live on so little. I have been eating meals at the range of 40 rupees which is less than $1 USD. One meal for me was the daily income for a family. But I was torn when one of the workers asked for donation. I do not believe in donation in most circumstances because it is not a sustainable solution for the problem. I am interested in sustainable solution, not temporary solution to a perpetual challenge.

Being in India has been an incredibly humbling experience. It is so true about India -- it is a love/hate relationship. There have been some extreme lows and extreme highs during those two weeks. The most important thing to bring to India is a good sense of humor. Things will not go according plan. The only thing you can do is the Indian head wobble and say "This is India" and take a deep breath.