top of page

Reflections

Pre-Departure Critique

The India Global Health Study Abroad Program appealed to me because it focuses on understanding Global Health in India and its surroundings. As I am doing a double major in Psychology and Political Science, I am curious about other countries’ political and health systems. I also want to know how the US foreign policies affect other countries as well.

The pandemic starting in 2020 changed many things, and India was one of the countries that was the most affected with more than 500 000 deaths according to the World Health Organization. I remember this time of the pandemic as if it was yesterday. I was still a high school student, and I watched a French documentary on India during the pandemic. They were talking about this family where the children could not go to the hospital with the mom and they had to buy oxygen to keep her alive at home. I remembered how frustrated and sad I was watching this. At this time, I realized what was happening and how the world was transforming in front of my eyes.

I think that I am expecting to see a country that it is still getting back to normal and adjusting, even if the United Nations declared recently that the pandemic is officially over. Coming from a developing country myself, I know what to expect in terms of the socio-economic situation. However, I also should not forget to mention the beautiful culture, sites, and people that I will be meeting. I learned from my previous trip to the Middle East, especially when I went to Palestine that the media gives the version that they want you to know, so I am trying to learn as much as I can about the culture and preparing to be culturally humble. Nevertheless, at the same time, I am keeping open an open mind to learning and being surprised by what is awaiting me.

When it comes to this trip and the program, I do not have any concerns so far, just that I am happy the Spring 2023 semester is over and I can fully focus on this trip to India, and get to know my other classmates. I am aware that the country is different from what I am experiencing in the US, and that I will be jet lagged and have a culture shock when I get there. Otherwise, I am excited.

Four global health issues that I will be focusing on during the trip are women’s health issues, mental disorders and mental health, and access to healthcare.

Therefore, women’s health issue is a very debatable subject here in the United States with the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade by the US Supreme Court, where they are very controversial discussion about it. As a Political Science major, I cannot avoid this discussion. However, there are also other aspects of women’s health I want to specifically focus on, such as breast cancer (the second leading cause of death in women), cervical cancer, menopause (women usually have fair or poor knowledge of it), and pregnancy. A lot of time, women are the ones that are the most affected, and they are the less informed among the population. India is also one of the countries that is not among the highest ranks when it comes to gender equality. So, how does that affect women having access to proper healthcare?

In addition, last semester, I took a Psychopathology class and was able to learn about mental disorders such as anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD, Autism, etc. I want to know how aware is the population of those disorders and how often people seek help from specialists. I also would like to know how effective the government at spreading awareness of those mental disorders is.

Next on the list is mental health, especially among the youth. I want to know how is it perceived in the Indian society. Are people comfortable talking about it as we are (kind of) in the US? What place do they give that in the education system? In addition, how the future generation is confronting this issue by spreading awareness?

Last but not least, access to health care is the subject that I am most interested to learn about during this trip. I know that PHRI is highly focused on women’s health, especially when it comes to access to health care. However, I also want to know about other populations like kids and older people. I want to know the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system, and how the government and organizations like PHRI are tackling the subject.

Field Experience Critique

I was very excited on the day I was volunteering for the cervical cancer screening camp. I could not wait to be closer to the community, talk with the women and helping the Public Health Research Institute of India with their important work. What I was not expecting was finding an impactful way for my passion for education to rise up. This turn out to be one of the best day I had in India.

Sharing my interest to pursue a Ph.D. in Education Policy on this same morning, one of the graduate student bring to my attention the library at the school in which the cervical cancer camp was happening. It was a tiny and messy space. The shelves were full of books but while taking a closer look, I realized that they were not adapted to the kids’ age who are between 4-10 years old.

As curiosity is a kid’s second nature, they started to surround me and showed me the books that they would like to read. As I saw their excitement, I went outside to read them the book. At that point, there was only about five of them with me. However, while I started reading them the story, I realized that there was more than twenty of them listening.

The story was about a child whose dream was to be a great dancer. However, fearing his parents and friends’ opinions, he thought that dancing was not an option. In addition, in the Indian society, being a dancer does not brings you anywhere.

He was hiding his dream, but he knowing that he was a good dancer, he wanted to pursue his dream. Therefore, with the right mentors and his determination, he became one of the best dancers in the world, performing with different artists and on different stages. All of this because he followed his passion.

I wanted to share a meaningful moment with the children but it ended up also being a lesson for myself. With my previous doubt of what I wanted to pursue, this moment reaffirm my passion for education, and mostly the enhancement of education policies in developing countries like Haiti or India. Like the by in the story, I want to believe in my dreams and fight for a cause that is so dear to my hearth.

That day, in comparison to a traditional classroom setting, I learned about the education system in India while interacting with professors, parents and students of the school. Moreover, I learned about cervical cancer detection process by setting up a cervical cancer camp in a rural village area and with the staff of the Public Health Research Institute of India.

I used many skills during this experience with the kids, I had to be very friendly and inspire trust so the kids can sit and interact with me.

I get to know some of the professors, talked with the parents, and of course, the students. I had to stay very open-minded, as the school is different in terms of religious and cultural aspects.

During my visit at the village, I also notice some issues that people were facing in their daily lives. When it comes to accessibility in the school, it is difficult for a kid with disability to go to his class. The classes has a lack of furniture’s, the library doesn’t not have books adapted to the kids age, the classes were really small with very little ventilation, clean water was not accessible and the bathrooms were not in good conditions, with very little privacy. And some of the kids were also walking barefoot in the village.

Public policies in those kind of issues should involve the welfare of the students such as equality in education, access to appropriate structure, and promotion of quality education at a national development. This can be improve if the government funded more the public schools. As I learned from parents and students in the country, there is this big difference between private and public schools in India. The parents pay for their children to go to private schools while public schools, they are very expensive and not everyone can access them. In addition, the students in private schools have more opportunities than the students who are in the public schools, which constitute a problem when you look at equality in education, especially in a social system like India where caste, arranged marriage, and access to primary necessities are still present and determining in many things.

One of my future and immediate goal after the Study Abroad is to help organize a drive-thru at FIU where people will be able to donate books, crayons, and shoes to be transfer to Mysore in India and be distributed to the children in the village.

Interview Critique

My interview project consisted of having a group discussion with young female college students in Mysore, India on girls’ education and its intersection with beliefs and the social system. I aimed to learn about the major education issues in India, the education policies established by the government, and student’s perceptions of their environment and education. The students I interviewed are studying at JSS Medical School and were between the ages of 18-24 years old. Some of the Current Issues in Education in India that affect women are:

  1. That it is too expensive and not accessible for everyone.

  2. The women get married at a young age.

  3. They get discriminated in the workplace

  4. They are required for domestic duties in their home and later with their in-laws.

  5. The maintained prominence of Gender prejudice

The students answered questions on what motivates them to pursue their degree, some of the challenges they are facing as young women, as well as their opinions about arranged marriages, caste, and the education system in India. The interview took place on their campus at JSS Medical School.

 

As I get to interview the students and know them through their experiences, I had a better and more profound understanding of what it means to live in India as a young woman, and how they are building their way around this consensus of a male-dominating society.

As a result of our conversation, they succeeded in changing my perceptions of arranged marriages in a more positive way. They told me that arranged marriage is a family decision and that with it; they will always feel comfortable going to their parents if something goes wrong. They also talk about it as an engagement to themselves and their future.

As I was diving more into the conversation, I realized that one thing that comes up in every answer is the issue of caste in India. Every time, I was asked about gender, or challenges that they would face, the mention of caste would rise up, as if caste is a fine line between gender and education.

Their experience as women and students living in India highly contributed to my social understanding and intellectual pursuit. I develop an understanding of the specific role of men and women in society, and the differences in caste and social classes that are not the same in India; however, they do affect one another. Being a part of a higher caste allows you to have access to more social and economic opportunities, however, it does not necessarily guarantee economic or social success. The same is true for vice versa: being a part of a lower caste does not guarantee a lack of wealth or social basis, however, it will serve as a barrier that those of a higher caste would not encounter to achieve the same economic or social goals. In terms of intellectual pursuit, I want to explore this on a wider level as a comparison between the Indian and Haitian systems because, in Haiti, there is the bourgeois class, which has a lot of power and is different from the rich but can be similar to the caste system in India.

 

Another answer that was interesting for me was about how they see themselves in the future and what do they want to accomplish in the future. In contrary to a lot of issue that needs the intervention of the government, the issue of caste in India is not an executive or administrative problem. No laws or policies will be strong enough if the people keep making it a priority. It appears that people in higher cast does not see the issue because your cast prime over the gender even when you are applying in schools. The actions should be taken by the people to give everyone the chance to succeed no matter their social caste.

The female students I interviewed were some of the most motivated, outgoing and brightest person I ever met in my life. They have some big dreams and ambitions. I am confident that those women are going to make a difference in India within every sector of the civic society. This makes me hopeful of the future of education in India.

From there, I am more aware of the educational problems around the globe and more prepared towards my goal of pursuing my Ph.D. in Education Policy, and how I can use those information to further my knowledge on the intersection of girl’s education and caste system in India.

bottom of page