After my experience in India, I don\u2019t feel like a member of the \u201cdeveloped\u201d or the \u201cdeveloping\u201d world. I just feel like a citizen of this planet. I feel like a human being.<\/p>\n
Here is a good snapshot of the city of Bathinda. In the background is one of three reactors of the thermal plant, one of the main industries of the city. \u00a0You get a mild glimpse of the fluid chaos found on most of the travelways in India. The signs on the right advertise tutoring and exam-prep centers, another major business sector in the area.<\/p>\n After we settled into the guesthouse, I quickly began to realize that I was experiencing culture shock for the first time. As two young and clearly foreign women in a very traditional part of Punjab, my partner Nicky and I couldn’t do much on our own because we would attract significant amounts of attention. Things I took for granted like being able to take a walk around the block after dinner just weren’t plausible.\u00a0We had to learn to break some of our old habits and adapt to the realities and circumstances of our new environment.<\/p>\n These new realities included things I had, and had not anticipated. The intense heat, daily power outages, and limited social interaction were difficult to cope with at first but gradually became a regular part of our lives, just like a cup of hot chai tea at 7am each morning and mangoes after dinner each evening.<\/p>\n Something I was initially aware of but less prepared to deal with was the reality of working within a different business culture. At SCU I had learned in a management class that the Western way of getting things done is very different than in other parts of the world. After the first two weeks at EHP, I realized two key factors in having a successful business relationship across cultures whether it be for research, a sales deal, or a joint-venture. Learn to bridge the frequent communication gaps<\/strong>, and stay focused on your ultimate goal<\/strong>. By doing so you can modify your plan of action to accomodate unexpected developments and achieve\u00a0what you set out to do.<\/p>\n Another element of this point is that EHP is a start-up. Studying in Silicon Valley for the past 3 years had given me a pretty good idea of what the start-up business culture entails. In Bathinda, I put theory into practice while adding the issues of international business culture discussed above into the mix. The result was an absolutely unique personal and professional challenge that I’m sure I will continue to draw upon throughout my career.<\/p>\n Mallan healthpoint, below, was the very first healthpoint to be established (2009). The surrounding community it serves are primarily agricultural laborers and some wealthy landowners.<\/p>\n Our projects for EHP were to come up with a metric for standardizing water distribution, and to explore the market potential for rural health insurance. \u00a0In six weeks we were to gather internal information, conduct external research, and survey the various stakeholders involved in each project, compiling two sets of data to be analyzed in the fall.<\/p>\n Early mornings we would leave the city and go into the rural areas to conduct our interviews with water distributors or EHP’s community health workers. Through these interactions, we began to know and understand the people whose lives were directly affected by the services offered by EHP.<\/p>\n We came to know the values, hopes, dreams, needs, and concerns of the community. A water distributor whose son helps him deliver water to 70 households everyday was concerned about how he will manage the demand once school began again for his son and he no longer had his (free) assistance. The standardization of EHP’s water distribution model is necessary to solve these real problems of their constituents.<\/p>\n My in-field experience allowed me to see the real value of the product and services being provided. We built a relationship of compassion and understanding with the community simply by asking the right questions about the things they need and the troubles they face. This motivated me to further dedicate myself to increasing that value for the people impacted.<\/p>\n I now understand the incredible passion that social entrepreneurs radiate. I now understand why this passion is necessary to push through the challenges they inevitably, and frequently face. At this year’s Global Social Benefit Incubator in August, the SEs were inspiring in their mission and promising in their ideas. I am eager to see who will host the next cohort of GSBF fellows, and give them the rare opportunity to face the most important and richly rewarding challenge of their undergraduate lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This experience was incredibly challenging, and incredibly important. After living and working in rural Punjab with E-Healthpoint for six weeks in the blistering heat of summer, I have a colorful collection of experiences that will forever augment my understanding of … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/danikaur\/files\/2012\/09\/rsz_dscn0809-1024x768.jpg\")
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