Social Service

Social service, volunteering, NGO....these are all ways of giving back to the society we live in. We all take from the society, so in our life, we should also give back.

Until 15 years ago, this was a novel concept for me. The only volunteering I had done was in Ethiopia for a short period of time, when I used to read for about one hour a week to the blind. And I thought I was doing that because I had time on my hands and had nothing else to do.  But now I know how valuable that reading must have been for the blind who were listening to me. I wish I had done more.

Depending on what one feels comfortable with, one can do personal service, i.e. give time and skills to a cause; or give money to a cause. Whatever is suitable.

I have done both - time and money so I have experience with both. It is a personal decision for anyone when they are ready for social service. This is something cannot be compelled, it is something that comes from within oneself.

I sometimes wonder if I would be doing so much of it if I had a family. I would be busy with them and not have time to give. But in America I see that volunteering is a sometimes a family affair. Volunteering is part of the school education. Kids learn it at a young age. How neat!! I will say that I have never met any Indian during any of my volunteering events - never! Maybe they and I go to different events.....Although in India there are thousands of NGOs (don't know how many are authentic); but in US, there are hardly any NGOs by Indians.  Nothing good or bad about this...just an observation.

I am writing two blogs on my experiences. I am not done with volunteering or donating money. It is an ongoing process.  Part 1 is on Time Donation and Part 2 is on Money Donation

Social Service (Monetary) - Part 2

Ten years ago, I went to India on a touring trip during my sabbatical. I wanted to go to an Ashram in Rishikesh to relax on the banks of Ganges.  It so happened that the Ashram was hosting a Geeta camp, which I then attended. Amazing camp! I learned so much. At the camp, I met a lady who was running an orphanage for girls of all ages in Dehra Dun.  These girls either were discarded by their families, or ran away from home due to some abuse or other. The lady asked me to contribute to the orphanage to sustain one 12 or 13 year old girl through her education, up to her marriage – so a financial commitment of about 5-7 years.

It was against my philosophy to help out with money, especially if I don’t know where the money is going. But the lady was convincing and she was a friend of a family friend. So I agreed to sponsor two girls (the money was not that much when converting dollars to rupees). I supported them over four years. My experience was mixed: I felt good that I could support some girls’ education and maybe give her a good future; on the other hand, I never knew who I was supporting and what the progress of the girl was.  Over time, I would call the lady but never got a satisfactory answer. Through the family friend, I knew that my money was spent well. It may not have gone directly to the girl, but it did help out in the orphanage.

And that is where my problem is – I need to know exactly where my money is being used.  It could be because my salary is not much and so whatever little I give should have some visible impact. I did not go back to India for the next 5-6 years, so that story came to an end. The sad thing is when I stopped sending the money, the lady never even asked me why I stopped sending the money.

I had a similar problem in Brazil. When I was in Brazil, I had worked with a young couple, who were our translators during our visit. The first time I went there, I was so impressed by their hard work and dedication that I wanted to do something. The man who arranged everything suggested that I pay the couple’s salary since he is not able to pay them too much. I thought – sure I can do that for one year! So I made three payments to him over one year. Two years later, I went back to Brazil for a second service trip. I chatted with the couple to find out if they were getting their salary without revealing any other details. It turned out that the man paid them only half of what I had given for them. Ugh!! When I asked him about it, he said, he needed the money elsewhere in the organization. There was really nothing I could do about it!!

So there….my point seemed to be made again and again.  Money given to organizations like this are never quite used for what you intend them to be used for.

Now I knew for sure that giving money was out of question. But old habits die hard!!

When I went to India recently, I met a young woman, very sweet, very hard working and of very caring nature. Despite the fact that she was poor and struggling in so many aspects of her life, she would always have a smile on her face. I was taken by her honesty and hard-working nature. She would tell me about her life and I could feel her pain!! I could not help myself…..so I decided to support her - financially. Now I talk to her periodically and see how she is doing – I don’t need a full accounting of my money, but I can tell she is not misusing the money. I have met her three times now and finally I feel comfortable in my financial contribution.

One incident regarding this woman will always stay on my mind. I was talking to her one day and she told me about some health issues she was having and that she needed to get some tests done. I knew she was not going to work and therefore she was losing money. I asked her if she needed more money for the tests, and very cheerfully she replied, “I have lots of money!” I was so amused! I did not send her any money for the tests. And that is the attitude that makes her so special to me.

Will I keep giving money in future? I don't know. I will not like to support this young woman all her life. At one point, her sons should take over and take care of her. So I will stop at that stage.

And then what? I don't know....

My determination is still not to give money to organizations. I have been asked by one or two NGOs to donate money, but I will not give - I need to work with them in order to see how they work. So at this time....they will get only my time!!

Social Service - Part 1

These words, social service, were alien to me until I started working at Park University. At my university, service was part of the professional development portfolio, which means one of the criteria by which my promotion etc. would be determined.  So I had to ask my mentor about what is “service”, and he said to me, it’s when you volunteer and work in the community. So of course I had no idea what I was going to do.  My first logical choice was to look in my professional society, American Chemical Society.  They had a local chapter in Kansas City and so I started getting involved in its activities. It was perfect for me as I am a chemist and an educator, so the activities I was participating in fit right in with my profession.

Within a year or two I caught on this bug of service. I started enjoying it. It was a great way to meet new people, see new places and all the while contribute to the community in some way. I did a lot of volunteering with science mentoring of young scientists as well as being a mentor to “women in science” – both very rewarding for me. I volunteered at events where they needed people to monitor activities. I was active in my professional society and also other women’s groups.  Eventually I started taking leadership roles and wrote grants and organized events. I learned a lot about team work during this time.

I had vowed to myself that I would never give money for charity. I would give my time and services, but not money. I could never be sure how this money was being used, and my money is not lottery money – it’s my hard earned money that I had frugally saved. It was not going to support administrative staff of any association. I wanted my money to be used to help people who really needed it.

My first service trip abroad was in Brazil. Here I saw how a lady had created a safe haven for kids to come after school and learn crafts or hang out in a clean, safe environment. The organization I went with took 10-12 people and built an open air classroom for the kids – all in one week.  It was really quite amazing for me to see how quickly a dream can be realized. (Of course the procuring and transporting of the materials for building the classroom was about a year long process and all this was done by one person who was dedicated to helping this community).

My next service trip was Hawaii. One would why Hawaii, such a tourist destination, would need help, but help is needed everywhere, even in the richest of the societies.  I saw a part of Hawaii that tourists don’t see. The problems there were many but we could do very little in the ten days we were there.

And then I thought I should go to India, my own country and see what I can do there. That was my motivation of going to Shanti Kunj. But now I realize that maybe it will not be a good fit for me as their activities are not done the way I am accustomed to. They also don’t advertise the activities in advance, so timing is an issue. So I just ended up going to DSVV and giving my time there. I feel like my talents were not completely utilized there the first time, but maybe it was because they did not know me. But even during my 2^nd and 3^rd trip, I felt a little under-utilized.  I will not presume to say why my services were not used to the max, but I know that I could have done a lot more.

I continue to do service as much as I can – locally. I believe in the saying “Think globally, act locally”. I have my limitations on what I can do, but I do what I can to know that I am making some difference.

And then someone asked me for money......(see Monetary Service)

My Second Summer at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyala (DSVV)

After coming to DSVV last year and meeting such good people, I thought I should come here at least once more and recreate the magic. My experience was good last year because I came with an open mind and was ready for anything and everything. I had 2-3 projects to do which involved going to different offices and collecting information. As much as I hate introducing myself 5 times to 5 different people in one day, I did it, because I needed to do it. I did end up finishing all the work I was given and actually did more than was expected.

There were 2-3 people I met last year who will be ingrained in my mind for the rest of my life. It was partly because of them that I wanted to come back again so quickly.  Also the beauty and fragrance of the flowers on this campus, the greenery and the just the peacefullness of the enviroment is hard to find anywhere else.

View of plumeria outside my room.

As before, the Pro Vice Chancellor, Dr. Chinmay Padya, gave me good projects to work on: making departmental brochures, proof reading, finalizing the induction book (an orientation booklet to DSVV) and some other work.

And just like last year my challenges began………last year also I had felt the differences in how academic institutions work in USA and India, and this year that difference became even more pronounced. Of course DSVV is not your typical university. It has a different philosophy, it does not charge any fees from its students and all faculty and staff work mostly on volunteer basis. The entire campus is like a big family, everyone lives on campus and knows each other etc etc.

The first few days passed by quickly and nicely as I was meeting with some old friends and working independently on the induction book. But as soon as I had to start going to the various departments to get information regarding the brochures, all my feelings of the previous year came back to me. I cannot image in USA that faculty will not be available in offices the week before classes start. There is generally very poor communication, people are not too email oriented, and if they do check emails then they don’t reply. But my thinking is that with little bit professionalism a place can be made even better.

Or maybe this is just my view……some people say I am a perfectionist, but the truth is I take pride in my work, I value the people around me and I prefer to finish my work on time.

This year was somewhat different than last year. Work was a little slow just like last year, but last year I got to do a lot more reading on SharmaJi’s literature than this year because this year I had my laptop. Because of this I could finish the work ChinmayJi gave me a lot faster. I was not tutoring anyone this year so my evenings were more free – which I think was good and bad. The good - I finished all my blogs on Kailash; the bad – I ended up watching movies sometimes instead of reading some good books.

All in all, the one month at DSVV was good this year. When will I be here or even in India next? Only Krishna knows………he is the driver of my life.

Routine at DSVV

Having decided to give my time for two months, I was ready for anything and everything.  My nature is that I hardly ever get bored.  I always find things to do, whether it is socializing, going out to see places or simply finding a good book to read.  And I was in the perfect place for all of the above.

My Daily Schedule

Getting up early has never been my strong suit, so here also I was happy to sleep in.  Of course since the sun came out early, I had no choice but to be up by 7:30 am (is that late?).  And then spending another half hour in bed just lying, thinking about what to do that day and listening to the birds outside, was very enjoyable.

Breakfast at the guest house was lovely, especially since I did not have to make it – BTW – that goes for all the meals!!  I completely enjoyed not being in the kitchen for two months.  Mornings were for me; emailing, facebooking and socializing.  There were always some or the other guests at the guest house, so I would just spend time chit chatting with them until I had to go to work.

I would work from 11 am to about 12:30 pm or so and come back for lunch.  Usually I would have very little to eat for lunch because I was not hungry in such hot weather.  And after a while food got a little repetitive, which was just fine with me since I did have mild obesity (wink!!).  Some days I would take a 20 min nap after lunch, other days I would go to the Registrar’s office and be there until whenever they needed me.

Usually I would finish work by 5 pm in time for evening tea.  I would try to sit at the Mahakaal during the 6 pm meditation on campus.  After dinner at 6:30 pm, my student would come over and we would study chemistry till about 9 pm.

After 9 pm I would get time for myself again.  Since I get up late, I go to bed late too, sometimes past 12 am.  And that was the time I would spend reading books and writing about my day.  One of the books I really wanted to read was Acharya ji’s Pragyo-upanishad and I did.  My only problem was that I don’t understand Hindi very well and I could not appreciate the text in its entirety.  But I did finish it and I did wrote some key things for myself.  I will post those in my blog, as I understood them, as time goes on.

My Social Life

I never thought I would make so many friends in such short time.  The guest house was a great place to meet interesting people no matter whether they were Indians or foreigners.  The international students I made friends with were amazing.  They had such passion for being at DSVV and learning about Indian culture.  I could also feel the challenges they were facing in being at a place where hardly anyone speaks English (it reminded me of when I was in Brazil and could not speak a word of Portugese!).  I would help out as much as I could, but ultimately they were meeting their challenges themselves.

(Dinner with foreign students)

Between my rounds to the offices during work I met some really wonderful faculty and students of DSVV.   Again, thanks to emails and facebook that we can all keep in touch.

Almost every other evening I was on the phone with a family member or a friend.  Since I was not planning to visit any of my relatives, we would talk a lot on the phone.  It was really good for me!

Perks of DSVV

The library was a great resource for everything on yoga and Acharya ji’s literature.  Once I got my library card made, I had no shortage of books to read.

(Photo by Sapna Gupta.  Library at DSVV)

DSVV has many mango groves on campus and one the best perks of living there was an unending supply of fresh, naturally ripened mangoes.  Why would I eat any other fruit??

(My mangoes!)

The canteen was convenient; I enjoyed an occasional chaach, samosa or paraantha. Not to mention that I found a dhobhi, Naveen bhai, also on campus. He became my new best friend on campus.  Oh! Doing laundry for myself was such a waste of my time in India!

Evenings at DSVV

When I planned to go DSVV for volunteering I had no idea what I would be doing or what my routine would be. I knew I would be doing the 9-day shivir (camp) at Shantikunj. But after that was over it was going to be an adventure. So I was just doing what I was asked to do. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted to stay at the university campus rather than at Shantikunj, because being in academia all my life that is the only place that I could think of being at.

During one of the earlier days I was taken to visit the Gayatri Vidyapeeth, the elementary through twelfth grade school sponsored by Shantikunj. I visited the chemistry labs there, which were great. The entire school was recently built so everything was new. The only thing that intrigued me about the chemistry labs were the fans….how do you operate a Bunsen burner under a fan? Alternatively how do you do experiments in sweltering heat without the fans? I suppose you build your lab schedule according to summers and winters (haha).

I also had the pleasure of visiting the 12th grade chemistry class at the school. I did not feel like teaching so I just talked with the students for 45 mins (yes I do have the gift of gab in class!). This turned out to be very useful 45 mins for me for the next six weeks.

One of the students from that class took the initiative to talk to me about getting tutored for chemistry while I was there. I can never say no to anyone, especially if a person makes an effort to ask me for something….. so I tutored her for the next six weeks. She was a such pleasure to teach – so smart, curious and a sweet personality! She would come over to see me every evening around 7 pm for two hours to learn organic chemistry. And after completing her studies (and sometimes even during) we would talk about everything under the sun; she was great company! It was a good experience for me to teach a student in India after teaching in USA for so long.

She was my boon in disguise because I don’t know what I would have done with my evenings if she had not been there (my Krishna really takes care of me in his own ways:-)). We spent so much time with each other and I really miss her now. Thank God for emails and facebook!

Projects at DSVV

My work at DSVV was divided in two major parts: work in the Training Cell (office), a new office with new responsibilities and the second was to work at the Registrar’s office. My day would start at around 11 am and I would be done with my work around 6pm.  Of course these hours were not so set as my projects were quite flexible.  I would use the morning time to do some reading, personal work etc.

At the Training Cell I worked on three major projects and some small ones that came about here and there. These projects kept me busy for at least 3-4 hours per day in the morning. One of my projects was to go around taking photos of the DSVV campus and write a description about the buildings. I really enjoyed doing this project. I got to do what I love – taking photos and I saw the campus intimately and talked to more people I can think of to know about their work and programs.

The other projects I had involved visiting several offices for some specific information. Again I really enjoyed this project as it allowed me to go around campus and meet and talk to people, especially since I was living alone at DSVV and it was nice to get out and socialize.  It is amazing how people open up once you start asking them about their work and challenges. Of course there were some who were introverts :-).

The challenging part sometimes was to introduce myself and tell them what I was doing. People could not believe that I would come from USA to volunteer for two months. Well….even some of my family did not!!

My afternoons were spent working at the Registrar’s office. The work I did was quite diverse. Everyone at the Registrar’s office was so wonderful. Initially the biggest treat for me – believe it or not, was having a cup of tea daily!! I was still staying at Shantikunj during my first few days of volunteer work at DSVV and I hated to stand in line to get tea. So tea at the office was the best part of the day for me! Luckily I was there at the time of admissions so I got to see a lot of behind the scene action at an Indian University. Great experience!!

As time went on my work schedule would change and also I learned a lot about the university. I was really impressed by the Polyclinic that I decided to undergo some alternative therapy treatment myself. I was just so curious I just wanted to try out some things in any way possible. So I visited the Polyclinic and the doctor had me undergo Pranic Healing, do Yoga and Naturopathy (my diagnosis was mild obesity!). So during the latter part of my stay I went to about 9-10 days of my alternative therapy treatment. Everything was super. Yoga at 6:30 am was the hardest because I could not enjoy it when I was sweating so much. But I know all the treatments had a positive effect on me.

I liked everyone I met. Everyone was very friendly and caring. Overall I learned a lot about myself, about alternative medicine, about good living habits (some of which I have implemented in my life already). I am so moved by my whole experience at DSVV that I want to go back there again as soon as I can.

About DSVV

I volunteered at Dev Sanskriti Vishv Vidyaalay (DSVV), Haridwar, for two months this summer.  I thought I would write my experiences down before it all just became a pleasant memory of yesterday.  

While I was at DSVV my daily routine was quite relaxed.  As I did not have to do any cooking, cleaning or driving to do I had plenty of time to do my volunteer assignment and work on my personal growth (although I don’t know how much I grew up!).  

My residence, the guest house, was on the DSVV campus and conveniently surrounded by the administration building (my main volunteer location), the canteen (chaach was great in during the hot summer afternoons!!) and the library.  My B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees are also from India and being here brought back many memories of my college days ....mostly good.  

DSVV is a residential university, and all faculty, staff and students live on campus.  It is really like having a huge family living together (yikes!!).   Everyone knows everyone!! I got to know so many people during my two months there and by the end they did seem like my family to me.  The residence halls (hostels) were very comfortable and again I was taken back to my B.Sc. days in my hostel in Meerut (fun times!).  The students at DSVV are lucky to be in a great place with such a safe, beautiful and clean environment. 

The university’s mission is not only to educate students to help them get a job but also to make them a good well rounded human being.  They all learn the philosophy of Acharya Sharma ji and hopefully they will all become good citizens of India. 

One of the unique aspects of the university was the three month internship that all students have to do after they finish their certificate or degree.  I have not heard of that requirement anywhere.  It is an opportunity for the students to go out to a different part of India (could be anywhere) and demonstrate what they have learned, academically and spiritually.

During my two months at DSVV I did a variety of little projects and some major ones.  There were some days that were a little slow but overall I was quite busy…..

Summer of 2011

So here is my first entry of my India trip this year. 

My destination for June and July this year was Shantikunj in Haridwar (Uttarakhand). Shantikunj was established by Acharya Shriram Sharma in 1971 in Haridwar. You can read about Shantikunj at http://awgp.org/. They also established a university, Dev Sanskriti Vishv Vidyalay (DSVV), http://dsvv.org/, about 10 years ago.  The campus is about 1 km from Shantikunj.

I was lucky to attend a shivir (camp) for nine days at Shantikunj and then I moved to the DSVV campus to volunteer at their university for six weeks. I chose the worst months, weather wise, to be in India, but what to do? As a professor I get summer holidays only during summer.  So periodically you might read my woes on the hot summer of India!

Do come back to read more....