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August 7, 2009
In the two years since she left university, Keya Saha-Chaudhury has developed a passion for international development and specifically, field work. Now the ANU arts/law honours graduate will be combining both with eight weeks in India as the winner of the CSI-Chain Reaction Foundation scholarship to attend the International Internship Program of PRIA, the Indian participatory democracy organisation.
Keya recently spent 14 months in China as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development working with the Marie Stopes Foundation on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS education in Beijing. She says the chance to work at the grassroots in India was a key attraction of the PRIA program.
Two weeks of classroom in Delhi starting at the end of this month is followed by six weeks on two field work placements working with local NGOs. Though she has extended family in India and has visited there several times, she is excited about the chance to "work with local NGOs and see a different part of India close up and from a unique angle". She is also looking forward to learning about community participation "in a more in-depth way and in areas broader than health".
Keya was selected from a strong field of candidates by CSI representatives Anne Measday and Danielle Begg, two representatives of the Chain Reaction Foundation and Claire Hammerton, one of last year's winners. She will report back on her experiences on her return, and plans to pursue international development as a long term career.