A Tutor for Saba: UPDATE

Thanks to many generous donations, the amount needed was earned for Saba. $50 will go towards her tutor and any other education needs, and the remaining $50 will be for anything her family needs.

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. The money will reach CI at the end of the month, and when I get pictures and a letter I will make sure to post updates.

Long Time, No Blog

Hi all,

Sorry it has been a super long time since I blogged anything... it has been a mixture of new (tiny) part time job, interviewing for more jobs (no luck yet), and pondering my career future.

I am just about finished with my MA in anthropology (I will hopefully be officially graduating in May this year) and I am realizing that, well, having an MA in anthro isn't going to help me get a job right now. Honestly, anthro wasn't exactly what I had imagined it as... I had this bold idea of applied anthropology (i.e. using anthro and research to help people) but the grad school I went to wasn't too applied friendly, and then to top it off, the economy is so bad that most non-profits have been scaling back their projects, not looking for fresh-from-grad-school researchers.

Looking back at my education, I see a great deal of confusion and poor planning. I kind of just went with things I liked and that I thought were interesting, which would be fine, except I didn't really consider the grander scheme of things until recently.. At 27, I am finally in a place in my life where I want to (ahem) 'settle down' to some degree. Vivek and I are trying to work out a plan so we can both be gainfully employed and happy here in the ole' USA, and his job is pretty straight forward. (He is lucky that he knows exactly what he wants to do!) I, on the other hand, have been merrily strolling through my education, trying this and that, and ending up with lots of knowledge and passion, but with few practical skills*.

(*that I can be EMPLOYED to use, that is)

Lately, I have been pondering my options and taking a look at myself and deciding what exactly it is I really want to do. One of the things I have been thinking about for a long time now is Nursing. As a nurse I can
a.) help people
b.) work with kids
c.) get a steady, well paying job anywhere in the country
d.) use my skills as a volunteer/work with a non-profit at some time
e.) Use my Hindi language/Indian cultural knowledge in many communities in the US
f.) a flexible schedule so I can also pursue some of my other interests as well.



I found this really great nursing program that is designed for people who already have a undergraduate and/or graduate degree in another field. It is designed to train highly educated nurses, and I would be an RN after the first year, and have a chance to get a CNL certificate and my MSN after the second year. and VOILA! I could be a nurse. Earning the monies. Helping the people.

Plus, I think I look pretty awesome in scrubs. ;)

What do you guys think?

Wanna Help?

Since October I have been going a couple of times a week to a special place. It's called Child Inn and it's one of the 5 homes for street children run by I-India in Jaipur, Rajastan. This organization, in addition to the homes for street children, also runs a lot of other programs in Jaipur: they run the Jaipur Child-line, which is a free number for children to call if they need any help. They also run mobile schools, and shower buses for children who live on the streets or in the slums. They also run vocational training programs for jewelry making, sewing, and arts & crafts.

I have been going to Child Inn, which is a boy's home. The boys there are usually between 10-18 years old. Most of them go to school and take computer classes, tutoring (for extra help) and sewing or craft classes after school. When I come I do drawing with them, or just play and chat.

Working there for a long time, I have come to see that while the staff wants the best for the kids, it is always a struggle because they need more funding for the children's education, health care, and daily needs like food, clothes etc. I wanted to share with everyone about this organization and the great work they are doing for children here in Jaipur, many of whom, without this program, would be forced to live on the streets. There are lots of ways to help, you can sponsor one child, or donate for different programs. You can read more about it here.

school chale hum

here is an interesting "social" message videos... here is an interesting one... this is it's description on youtube.com:

192 million children between 6-14 years of age across 1.1 million places in India are not going to school.
This film for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Universilisation of Elementary Education) addresses the needs of these children.
The film catches the moment when children all across India from Kashmir to Kerala wake up in the morning and run to go to school.
Music:Shankar/Ehsaan/Loy
Lyrics:Mehboob
Directed by: Kanika and Bala, Bharatbala Productions (BBP) for the Ministry of Human Resource Development, India.

and here is the video:


I need to see what the Indian government is actually doing to get kids in school... besides making videos... hmmm

anyways.. something to think about.

edit:
after finding this, I checked out the other videos by bbpfilms, which all seem to be these videos designed to pull at people emotionally.. it's interesting.. videos like this about the U.S. always make me roll my eyes, but about India, I always get a little pulled in, even though I know it is..umm... let's see,how to say? designed to make us think a certain way... for example, this video, is all about technology, and shows how building huge fancy buildings and factories is the way to go. It's called "I am India"