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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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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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 65% while the male literacy rate is 82% (Rajput). According to Girls Not Brides, a collection of 1400 organizations committed to ending child marriage, “47% of girls [get married] before 18”

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