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The Center for Human Rights Leadership

Asia

Saraswati Nandini Majumdar '10 - Betawar, India
Saraswati spent her summer conducting an ethnographic study of the Dalits, or the untouchable, children in Betawar, India. Her approach was very consistent to ethnographic method as she approached the Dalits as an outsider so that she could instigate important conversations with them to which they felt comfortable being honest and open. Her "naive" appearance and questions allowed her to gain significant information about their lives and how their decisions are made. She learned a great deal about their culture as well as the reasons that the Dalits children do not attend school. Her hope was to use what she learned as inspiration for literature that might overlap with activism on behalf of these children. She has already written one story about her experiences, and more are certainly to come.

Kyle Block '10 - Chiang Mai, Thailand
Kyle spent the summer of 2008 interning with the Garden of Hope in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Garden of Hope seeks to help the women working in, or striving to leave, the prostitution industry. It has two important components. The first component is their work with women attempting to leave their occupation as prostitutes. The Garden gives them healthcare, education in a craft for new work, and a place to live. The second component is their efforts to help the children of prostitutes while their mothers are working. This is the sector in which Kyle's participated. While the children are at the Garden of Hope, they are given a good meal, English lessons, and a safe place to wait. Kyle was able to work with these children, helping to provide them with these needs, directly contributing to their wellbeing.