Bryn and a doctor at a health camp
Bryn is an American who grew up in Hong Kong and has also lived in Singapore and Mexico. She studies Biology and Anthropology in New York and has plans for medical school. After completing her first year of college, Bryn is spending her summer vacation interning for two non-profit organizations in Bangalore, South India.
This is not Bryn’s first experience volunteering abroad and traveling in the developing world. She has taught English in Tanzania, and to mentally handicapped children in Hong Kong, and worked with HIV orphans in Cambodia. With a strong interest in global health issues, she wanted to expand her experience by doing volunteer work in India: “I’m interested in global health and bringing health care to villages and my interest area is biology,” says Bryn, “so India fit the bill. I found this internship opportunity with Leave UR Mark through a web search and felt this was a great opportunity to get my hands dirty and learn something in the process.”
Bryn on our rooftop
Bryn is spending 7 weeks working in the health sector. She works three days a week at a government home for the handicapped where she helps with care and physiotherapy. The rest of her time is spent volunteering at an organization which offers free surgery for children with craniofacial deformities like cleft lip and cleft palate. She enjoys interacting with the children and has the possibility to work on different aspects of health-related work. “At work I interact a lot with the children. The kids can follow my English but I’ve also learned some basic Kannada, the local language, from the other staff. Most interaction happens during vocational training. I go through their physio exercises with them but also help with wound care, things like scrapes, cuts, and fungal infections. I’ve also started a school health program at one of the organizations by preparing lesson plans for what the children could learn, like healthy habits, disease prevention and nutrition.”
Bryn’s first impressions of India were not what she was expecting. She was prepared to face more poverty and though she had already traveled in Southeast Asia, she was surprised by how populated India is. By interacting and working with locals she has learned about the local work culture and has had a positive experience and the opportunity to meet many different types of people. “One valuable aspect of my experience has been sharing it with other people who have chosen to come here to volunteer. We’ve traveled to many places: Kerala, Mysore, Goa, Chunchi Falls, Ooty and soon we’re going to Delhi by train. We take public transport and sleeper buses. It has truly been an eye-opening experience to see India.”
The interns on the streets of Goa
With the goal to build an international career in global health, Bryn feels that living and working in a foreign country through internship opportunities is the best way to get an introduction to the culture and working environment of other countries. She would like to do more traveling on her own in the near future and come back to India and explore the north of the country. Her advice to other students looking for volunteer opportunities in India is to do some research before embarking on this trip of a lifetime. “Read up about India as much as you can. Also, I would say expect the worse, then you’re less likely to experience culture shock. Some other useful advice would be pack light, bring some books and learn a few card games!”
To apply for medical and healthcare related internships in India, email info@leaveurmark.com
