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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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….

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The Impact of Arts

Education isn’t just about reading, writing, and learning arithmetic. It’s about developing yourself into a full person – with deepened appreciation, more perspective, and a stronger understanding of the world around you. Profugo’s Fine Arts Skills Training (Profast) in Wayanad, India does just that……

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Becoming a Beam of Light

Statistics show that Indian girls in regards to self-esteem, education, and independence, due to gender roles and sexism, are in a worse place than their male peers. For example, Indian adolescent girls’ self-esteem (Rao et al). The literacy rate for females in India is…

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Education During a Pandemic

The rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the world has forced politicians, policy-makers, administrators, and educators to make impulsive decisions about the state of education. Worldwide, many schools have shut down campuses and in-person learning in traditional classroom settings, transforming education into primarily virtual settings….

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Joys and Growth: Reflections from the First Five Months in the Field

On a Saturday afternoon in January, I found myself on the balcony of the Prasanthi Cottage, my current home.  I took in my surroundings – the lush hills, the distant moos of cows, the airy dance of floating clouds.  I sat, alone, with a…

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Beatrice’s Adventures in India

I will never stop marveling at the remarkable capacity of airplanes to transport one all the way across the world in a matter of hours. I completed the 10,000 mile journey to India over the course of three separate flights – starting in New…

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