Miral
Miral Joined: September 8th 2009
Logged in: October 10th 2009
Logged in: October 10th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
My first week here has been somewhat tough. My initial reservation against accepting a placement in India came back to haunt me as I have been having a tough time adjusting. The biggest obstacle for me has been the language barrier between myself and the office staff as well as with most of the people I am surrounded by on a daily basis. Since most of the office staff speaks Tamil exclusively, it has been a struggle to start figuring out my place within this organization. There are about 30 people on staff and most of them are field workers who come into the office about once or twice a week. I have had the opportunity to accompany them on some field visits in the targeted urban slum areas within Madurai, accompanied by a translator of ... read more
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So I have finally decided to sit down and update everyone on where I am and what I am up to. I am in the International Development Program at the University of Toronto and as part of my co-op component I will be spending the next 8 months in Madurai, India. I am working for the Madurai Non-Formal Education Centre (MNEC) which is supported by Presbyterian World Services and Development (PWS&D). MNEC is a social development organization that aims to address the needs of urban slum dwellers in Madurai. The organization has a rather broad scope within development with programs focusing on economic independence and sustainability (especially for Women)and social awareness and empowerment of the urban poor. Currently one of the main focus of the organization is the Self Help Groups (SHG's) that comprise mainly ... read more
