Finding a community in the Sandbox

I’ve had some pretty tough jobs in the past, including counseling children with severe emotional and behavioral challenges at Ryther Child Center and advocating for victims of domestic violence in the court system at Family Violence Prevention Center, and while these jobs certainly pushed me, there’s no doubt that my work at DCSE has pushed me to reach a level of professional development that is unparalleled to my previous work.

At times, I feel like EA is a baby that requires constant care and attention. If I’m not pitching to new partners, designing courses, or teaching students, I’m training faculty, designing new marketing materials, or coordinating guest speakers.  While I’m very passionate about my work, it is also incredibly draining and there are days in which I really struggle. Throughout the ups and downs, I’ve found that what really keeps me going is the community that I’ve developed here.

In reading the books, The Blue Sweater, Three Cups of Tea, and Mountains Beyond Mountains, which chronicle the stories of Jacqueline Novagratz, Greg Mortenson, and Paul Farmer respectively, I felt a sense of comfort in learning about the tremendous challenges they faced and were able to overcome. I also found it intriguing to see how critical the connections were that they made with the local communities in which they worked.  It’s no breaking news in the development sector how important it is to immerse in the local community to ensure that any solutions outsiders try to implement are culturally appropriate and viable. However, equally important is recognizing what a key role these communities play in the lives of the outsiders that enter them. There is something very unique about the relationship that develops between someone living in a community far from their home country and the community that embraces them.

While my work with EA does not place me inside a tight-knit rural network the same way it did for Novagratz, Mortenson, and Farmer, I do feel a part of a close community here in Hubli. Some of my favorite experiences in the Sandbox have been the experiences I’ve shared with the community here. Whether it’s girls’ dinner night, a co-worker’s baby shower, chats over lunch at the office, celebrating festivals, or attending in cultural events, I find that my life here is incredibly rich with amazing people and that’s what keeps me going, regardless of the other challenges I may be facing.