Social Impact Internships: Samuel Chen (’27)
My name is Samuel Chen, and I am a sophomore studying computer science and finance. This summer, I interned at Ek Kadam Aur as a data analyst. Ek Kadam Aur is a non-profit working to address educational inequality for visually impaired children in India. Through their Arunodaya program, they aim to help blind children assimilate into public schools and gain educational, social, and life skills.
Working Towards Social Change:
In India, blindness is a significant public health issue that poses social and economic challenges. India is home to around 8 million blind individuals and 62 million people with visual impairments, a disproportionately high 23% of the world’s blind population (NMJI). For these afflicted individuals, there can be many challenges to daily life that make it difficult to gain an education, find work, and live independently. The World Health Organization found that young children with early severe vision impairment experienced delayed motor, language, emotional, social, and cognitive development. These delays led to an impact on adult life, including lower employment rates and higher rates of depression. From a worldwide economic perspective, society has struggled to integrate individuals with vision impairments, as $411 billion is lost each year in productivity due to vision impairment (WHO). Ek Kadam Aur is a non-profit dedicated to helping these children by providing educational and social opportunities. It was founded on the vision of a world where every child receives a complete, uninterrupted opportunity for free education, skill training, and healthcare. I have seen firsthand the many ways they push for social change in the seven states they reside in.
Community and Economic Development:
Arunodaya is Ek Kadam Aur’s flagship education program, focused on creating educational opportunities for underserved students with visual impairments. The program is built to successfully integrate visually impaired children into their local schools in India. Since these children typically have no prior experience with formal education, one of the core pillars of the program is building confidence in the children. Beyond the education and skills training, these children will go into the world with renewed self-belief and assurance in their prospects for a brighter future.
Advocacy and Raising Awareness:
Much of my work with Ek Kadam Aur was intended to help advocate and raise awareness for the issue of visual impairment in India. I used old advertising brochures and manuals to create a PowerPoint presentation to raise awareness on the issue and demonstrate the difference Ek Kadam Aur is making. In addition, my capstone project was creating a manuscript detailing my data findings on the visual impairment issue and the progress of Ek Kadam Aur. Informing the general public about the issues in India raises awareness, and more progress can happen on a global scale.
Volunteering and Direct Service:
I had the opportunity to have weekly meetings with a team member, and I learned about the direct interventions from Ek Kadam Aur. There are members of the team in 7 different states, and they work with individual students on a daily basis. During the first few months of the Arunodaya program, students meet with mentors daily, five times per week. After phase 1, students meet in pods to build social skills and positively influence each other. The Ek Kadam Aur team uses direct service to ensure these students can adequately integrate into society.
Conclusion:
As an intern at Ek Kadam Aur, I had a great experience learning about the issue of visual impairment in India. The team spent time helping educate me on the problem and explaining their direct intervention solution. After learning about the issue, I was able to use their data to find the program’s strengths and weaknesses. Beyond my work, I also enjoyed learning from the other team members. They shared personal experiences on the field and their motivations for helping the children.
Tags: Health, Health & Medicine, Social Impact Internships, Social Impact Internships 2024, Social Impact Internships Summer 2024
