Sweating the Big Stuff, Enjoying the Small Stuff

First, an apology for the last post. A travel blog to keep family and friends up on my whereabouts and activities is probably not an appropriate venue for a controversial and personal political rant, so now back to our regularly scheduled programming from Sadhana Village . . .

As I expected, I learned more from the people at Sadhana Village than I could have possibly hoped to teach them. The way of life in this enclave of acceptance and good-will has made an indelible impact on how I envision my future career and lifestyle. It really is the little things that make all the difference. Sadhana Village does not aim to change the perception of people with disabilities in India, there are no plans to expand globally or even regionally – Sadhana is content to remain a quiet community in a remote location. This does not mean that Sadhana isn't making a difference, only that the organization is doing it individual by individual. People come first at Sadhana, not publicity, recognition, or finances.

When confronted by a problem, such as how to help people with developmental disabilities live a happy and healthy life, I too often focus on the macro-scale, societal level solutions, but the best place to start is by focusing on individual people. Finally the classic “top-down versus bottom-up” distinction makes sense to me. Any solution that is formulated by bureaucrats (as well-meaning and educated they may be) at the top of an organization or government is unlikely to be effective at the local level because the it will not be ideally suited for every environment and group. A solution that is formulated by the people working at the grass-roots level will be much more effective because they are more knowledgeable about the local environment's resources and specific individual's needs. Furthermore, they are working with people, not abstractions, and are immediately aware if an aspect of their program is not working. Since it took me two degrees and almost a year abroad to figure that one, I guess I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Although it is not their intention, Sadhana is making a global impact. People from all over the world visit to volunteer or to learn about Sadhana's system so that they can bring it back to their home country and organization. There have been numerous articles published and several new organizations have been spawned using Sadhana as a guide, a perfect example of “bottom-up” or horizontal movement of an innovative idea.

When I arrived here I immediately wanted to work on towards increasing Sadhana's organizational capacity through grant-writing, staff training, fund-raising, technology acquisition, etc. I think I'm attracted to this type of project because I can walk away in a month with a quantifiable result, which may or may not become a line on my resume. I quickly learned that this is not my role at Sadhana. I was welcomed, fed and housed so that I could enrich the lives of the residents. After this realization, that I'm here to work with the residents rather than the organization, I experienced an unexpected wave of relief. Instead of worrying about funding organizations and grant deadlines, I could slow down and get to know the unique and interesting residents. I helped Sarang learn how to use my digital camera, upload photos to his personal computer, and put them into a presentation that he will show to all guests and new volunteers as the official welcoming committee of Sadhana. I worked with Yetin to practice his English writing and eventually compose a short biography which he read at a community meeting. I had long and interesting discussions with Vankadesh, who is a linguistic savant and speaks seven languages, about geography and linguistic anthropology. These may be small contributions, but I left Sadhana knowing that my presence made a few people happy; something I couldn't be sure of if I had spent my time editing grant applications.

These experiences working with individual residents are what have made an indelible impact on how I envision my future. I still vacillate between the macro and micro ways of helping; a career in the United Nations or as a social worker, making public policy or teaching children, international NGO or local non-profit. While these alternatives are not mutually exclusive, they represent two different ways of doing good in the world. I am coming to realize that both are equally important means to an end, but that I must first ground myself in reality by working at the micro/individual level before I can be focused or effective on a larger scale. Getting your hands dirty, sometimes literally, working directly with people is the only way to learn how to help. I guess that is why I am on this trip – to figure out what it is I need to learn in order to be useful to those in need. In other words, find a niche for myself.

I don't know if I've found my niche, but everywhere I go I learn something new about what it takes to be helpful and what I should learn to make myself more effective in that role. What have I learned that I need to learn? Here is an abbrieviated list:

1) Language – because not everyone in the world, or even the US, speaks English
2) Language – because you can't get much done without it.
3) Language – because being mono-lingual is seriously not-cool
4) Hard-skills – because just being well-meaning and well educated only goes so far.

As far as the first three are concerned, I am committed to building on my meager Spanish in the next few years to become competent enough to have a casual conversation. The issue of hard-skills is a little more complicated. I have witnessed other volunteers who are useful no matter where they go because of their skill-set. These skills are as diverse as teaching music, massage, construction, yoga instruction, physical therapy, gardening, and teaching art. For example, two occupational therapists just arrived at Sadhana and I am amazed that I have never looked into this profession previously because it is so aligned with my interests and experience; helping people with physical or mental limitations to reach their goals by using their unique skills and interests to overcome environmental obstacles. That is the extent of my knowledge of what an occupational therapist does, I just find it interesting that so many means exist to the same end; helping disadvantaged individuals live a happy and healthy life.

So to get to the point of this post, I still don't know what I want to do with my life, but I know that the best place to find my niche is by working with individuals. As some of you know, Jess and I are returning to the US of A in July/August and will be seeking employment as teachers! Becoming an educator will undoubtedly teach me a great deal and open many doors to other possible careers. Maybe I'll never know what I want to be when I grow up, but at least I'm having fun trying to figure it out.

My next, and final, stop in India is at the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal. I have almost no idea what my role will be, but it is a worthy organization with a good reputation, so I'm looking forward to my time there. Also, I should have regular internet access!!!! Thanks to everyone who has read this far – you are my blog super-stars!