Sustainable & Just Community Development

Profugo, like many other organizations, aims to create social change, and better the lives of those who have less access to resources such as health services, education, and entrepreneurial skills. The work Profugo does is essential and has fostered great change in Wayanad. What is fundamental to the work they do however, is that it is underscored with the prioritization of choice, participation, and inclusion of the community they are serving. A crucial aspect of

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Book Review: Where Am I Giving? by Kelsey Timmerman

Kelsey Timmerman is a New York Times bestselling author, a public speaker, and self-proclaimed “touron” (a traveler who is “curious and seeks out interactions with locals, but is also a bit of a moron because it’s impossible not to be when you are trying to move through a world different from your daily life”) (p. 208). Timmerman grew up in small-town America, yet always longed to see the world. After graduating from Miami University with

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Nutrition Education: Why Isn’t it a Priority?

Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts: these are the core subjects taught in public schools in America. Health class: this is typically taught only a few times a year and only a section of this course covers the topic of nutrition. According to the CDC, “US students receive less than 8 hours of required nutrition education each school year, far below the 40 to 50 hours that are needed to affect behavior change.” As

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Smiling from the Mountains

Wayanad, by name is not a new place for me. I have visited the place several times as a tourist and as a student for field work. But four months of experience here has taught be that I previously knew little of the real beauty, terrain and moreover the lives of people in this heavenly district of Kerala. Even though I was so excited to begin Profugo’s field fellowship since I have a strong affinity

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Education: the Key to Development

Given that India has the world’s second largest population, it is not shocking that they also have the second largest education system. However, despite the size, there are still enormous disproportions in participation rates. These gaps are particularly evident within populations of lower castes. Overall the country has come a long way in terms of progression towards equal access to education. Within the last ten years it was reported that the enrollment of rural children,

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