Did you know that you
need an India Visa to stay in India for more than 30 days? I did not know until
two weeks before my trip and the process can take 1-3 weeks. Whoops! On such
short notice, the situation led my father to do extensive research, while my
mother and I attended a self-defense course. When explaining my travel plans, I
have been told, “be safe” many times and I plan to do just that. The course was
helpful in increasing confidence and developing some useful life-long skills.
Preparing for this trip has been a team effort from the many people I have spoken
with and my family.
After about seven hours
of visa work (2 hours the night before to fill out the form and 5 hours to
figure-out how to pay for it, make sure it was perfect and place it in the
mail) on a Monday, I have never been happier or more relieved to see my
passport with new stickers 8 days after I mailed it! Thank goodness I do not
have to change my flight.
Did you know how hard
it is find a decent pair of pants in the Seattle area that will be comfortable
in 100 degree weather? I have probably spent more time searching for this than
any other item. Well, the single pair of pants I found shall have to do.* They
are white and it will be an adventure to see what color they become. I hope to
find better pants in India, where such pants are actually sold. I also ordered
a pair of shoes that do not exist. Luckily, the equipment difficulties only
require some perseverance and flexibility to over-come.
Preparing for this trip
has been quite the journey; I hardly imagine what my journey in Chennai, India and
the southern region will actually be like. I am interning with a social venture
called Ayzh (http://www.ayzh.com/) that
focuses on maternal and infant health. Their hallmark product is a clean birth
kit that provides women and healthcare workers all the components recommended
by the World Health Organization for a safe and hygienic birth, using
culturally appealing materials. They are currently developing a supplemental product
of a newborn kit. The kit aims to provide mothers with thermal care, sanitation/infection.
In my introduction and prevention and breast feeding components to take care
of their newborn. The products Ayzh are developing are important because India
has one of the highest infant mortality rates.
During my introduction
and preliminary research, I have learned many women consider it inauspicious to
prepare for their baby by purchasing supplies before the baby is born. The
financial risk is quite high for many and it has become culturally expected. Many women wrap their newborn in dirty cloth
or towels because it is their only resource available, but such materials
increase the risk of infection. Ayzh’s newborn kit, led by Sanjukta, aims to
help change maladaptive behaviors by providing the appropriate basic supplies
and using appropriate communication avenues. My task as an intern will be to
explore avenues that behavior can be changed by testing prototypes of the
current kit.
I am somewhat daunted
by my task, because behavior is very complex. Why would the words of a
healthcare professional carry more weight than the new mom’s mother or
mother-in-law? Why should the new mother do anything different than her own
mother, when whatever she did obviously worked? The social and relational aspect
of providing newborn care is more convenient and resonates at a deeper level
for a new mother than the busy, somewhat impersonal healthcare professional.
Although I come to
India with good intentions, I recognize I have a lot of challenges and learning
ahead. I will meet and interact with many people with different backgrounds
than I. I will learn about a new culture and healthcare system. I will learn
some Hindi or other Indian languages. I will learn more about Hinduism and Islam.
Given my learning journey ahead, I hope that my good intentions will actually
align with my impact.
Speaking of learning
and novel experiences, this is my first blog. Please let me know if you have
any suggestions in terms of content, language, style, etc. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to ask! If you develop any suggestions based
on what I am doing, please feel free to share! I think your perspective based
on your own experiences is important too! You can comment or email me at
kellybrennan35@gmail.com. I welcome all feedback!
Cheers!
Kelly
Note: The project I
described about the newborn kit development is what I currently plan to do, however, I may fulfill what role is needed once I arrive. I expect what I
imagine myself doing and what I will actually be doing will be quite different.
How much it will deviate? I don’t know. Probably more than I expect and I look forward
to finding out.
*Update: I found a
second pair of pants! Yay, REI!
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