Swachh Bharat Abhiyan – Clean India Mission

At the Sehgal Foundation we are working on a project composed of two aspects. First we will monitor and evaluate the project implemented in two villages last year to create an impact assessment, and second, we will be working in two new villages to implement the proposed project. Our project consists on the implementation of toilets in rural India, as well as bringing awareness of different government policy and benefits that people(especially women) might be unaware they are entitled to receive.
Today was the first time we visited the rural villages we will be working on implementing toilets to, and it was very successful. The purpose of this visit was to present ourselves, explain the project purpose and create awareness in order for us to come back in the next few weeks to individually speak about the project, instead of arriving and demanding them to create change on a project they have no knowledge on.
At our arrival, a community meeting was held where many women were present, excited to learn about the project and free to ask any questions. After the community meeting, several women accompanied us on a small tour of the village in order to familiarize ourselves with the infrastructure of the town. It was a big success to have such positive response from these women in just the first day of meeting them, hopefully this positive attitude towards change will continue.

Meet our team:

HELLO! I’m Jackie Bornstein! I just finished my second year at UF as a Psychology major on the pre-medicine track. I was chosen as the project leader for our group while in India & will be the chapter leader for Nourish next year. I’m so honored and excited to be working with such amazing people in both Nourish & Sehgal. I’m really passionate about human rights advocacy and humanitarian assistance but am still trying to figure out how I want to involve this work in a career path. I am confident that working with people in Sehgal with so much knowledge and experience in many areas will help me narrow down my search! The adventure begins!

Hello!! My name is Stephanie Muench and I just finished my Junior year double majoring in Anthropology and Sociology with a minor in International Development and Humanitarian Assistance from the University of Florida. I have been part of Nourish UF chapter for a year and am excited to become a chair member in the future. I intend to get a Masters in Sustainable Development which will help be follow my dream of spreading awareness of the United Nations sustainable development goals and help implement different projects that support them. With my focus in culture (with a degree in Anthropology) I will be focusing on attending the specific needs of each communities beliefs and traditions. I know that this project will give me many opportunities to grow individually and academically and I cannot wait to share those experiences with all of you!

Hi! My name is Rachel Feldman and I just finished my first year as an International Studies major with a regional focus in Asia with a Nonprofit Leadership minor at UF. I’ve served as the Marketing Director for Nourish and next semester I’ll be the Ventures Director. I’m really looking forward to this project because India’s always been the country that I want to visit the most due to its culture, food, vibrancy, and of course its natural beauty. Aside from that though, my goal in life is to improve the lives of people who suffer daily because of poverty, lack of rights, and overall the inability to live the life they want to live, and with this project I get to begin to make an impact. I’m so thankful for this opportunity and I’m excited to share my experiences!

Hi! I’m Prerana Krishnan and I’m currently pursuing my Masters in Development Policy, Planning and Practice at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, India. I plan to be working on bettering the health and sanitation situation in certain villages in Maharashtra, India as part of a project for my thesis by 2017. I’m excited to be working on this project with Sehgal Foundation and Nourish International as I am otherwise new to this field and I believe this is an opportunity for me to learn about all the work that has already been done in this field while also working out how I can contribute. I look forward to sharing my experiences and learning with all of you!

Stay tuned for our progress next week!

 

Stephanie Muench