Report

I was fortunate to be selected for an internship through the World Citizenship Program with Mercy Corps in Darjeeling, India. Having visited Darjeeling before as a traveler, I was excited to return there. The three months I spent in India during the summer of 2004 were some of the most valuable applied learning experiences on my life. My assignment was to create a business skills development curriculum which the CHAI staff would use to complement the youth component of the project as well as any of the community initiative projects that involve business opportunities. Since this task was completed ahead of schedule and the curriculum needed to be translated and typed in Nepali, I was able to become involved with other areas of the CHAI project.

There were many times during my internship where I felt as though I was getting much more from the experience than I was able to give. In retrospect, I realize how valued I was to the organization and the development project. I learned a tremendous amount regarding the process of development within the framework of sanitation, community initiatives, and youth employment.

The project, Collaboration for Hope and Advancement in India (CHAI), aims to uplift the quality of life of people in the Darjeeling district which lies in the Eastern Himalayans. Darjeeling is considered a biologically diverse hotspot and faces problems such as deforestation, waste management, chemicals used by the local tea plantations, and lack of government support. The field visits to the rural villages were the most beneficial to my understanding of the issues and challenges faced here.

Being in the villages allowed me to acknowledge the challenges these people face in their everyday lives. Through the problems the people face in this area, one of the most remarkable aspects was the perseverance of the human spirit. People seem to be very accepting of their living conditions. The communities are very tightly knit and people treat each other like family.  Rituals and religious beliefs seem to be very strong and signs of this are evident all throughout the landscape, temples, shrines and small altars are seen in many places. Although I was only there a short time, I did begin to feel like a local resident of the town.  The people in my community were extremely welcoming and treated me as family.

One of my main goals in accepting this position was to gain practical experience in relation to the theories of development and human ecosystems I am exposed to in graduate school. Fortunately, these three months with the CHAI project gave me exposure to rural development and so much more. I value the friendships and connections I have made here and will always hold a special place in my heart for the Darjeeling hills.

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