From CEOs to Slums, My Trip to India – Guest Blog.
My Travel Party.
I visited India last month for two weeks as part of a trip with the Kellogg School of Management. I traveled throughout the country with 50 business school students, where I enjoyed amazing food, saw beautiful places and got to know a great group of people. The trip was set up to allow MBA students to study the economic and political trends ongoing in India, and we were quite fortunate to meet many of the country’s top business and government leaders.
The highlight of my trip, however, was breaking from meetings for a couple days to visit my good friend and former co-worker Rick in Ahmedabad. While I had a pretty good idea of what Rick was up to from his blog and email updates, I was truly amazed by seeing his work in action.
Youth that Saath trains for formal sector jobs.
During my visit, Rick showed me around the slums of Ahmedabad, where his organization works to help provide invaluable financial banking support, healthcare and education programs. I was shocked at the progress he had made since moving to India last summer. Specifically, I was most impressed with the “career centers” Rick had helped set up. These centers, set up by organizations like SAATH but run by local tenants, allow youth to come in and receive training in essential computer and English-language skills for very little cost. Unbelievable that a program that one of my peers works with makes such a significant difference in peoples’ lives, taking slum tenants from living in the slums to working legitimate service sector careers at banks, call centers and hotels in a short few months.
A slum where Saath helped residents pay for paved roads, electricity and sanitation.
Pre-school education.
It’s hard to describe the extent of the poverty in cities like Ahmedabad to my friends back home in the states, because I’ve literally never seen anything like it. I’m proud to know that Rick is spending his time and energy on such a worthy cause and couldn’t have been more impressed with his progress in less than a year. Rick, thanks again for taking me out, putting me up and letting me post a little about my India experience on your blog – it was truly incredible to be able to witness a side of India that you simply can’t access as part of an American tour group. Keep up the great work but come back soon – Chicago misses you.
Rick with a local entrepreneur.
At the microfinance bank w/ Yaqoob a community leader in Juhapura.
– Steve
finding rickshaw. 