Volunteer Application

Questions:

Please comment on your interests in volunteering with Aim Abroad particularly.

            I am a senior in high school (12^th grade) and will graduate in June 1^st, 2015. For my senior thesis, I have chosen to talk about and research women empowerment in India. After researching for days, I came across the Omprakash Foundation and the AIM Abroad foundation. My goal is to make a male and a female feel comfortable with each other. To make this possible, the man and woman but see each other as equals. For them to see each other as equals, opportunities must also be equal. For example, women should be encouraged to play sports outside like men in India. Women should work-out rather than diet, despite the belief that gyms are for men. Women should be able to do manly and woman-ly things. Women do not have to do manly things, but they should at least have the same options and opportunities as men do. The same goes for men. Men should be allowed and encouraged to dance, act, and cook. The generations have passed when woman cooked at home and man went to work, and people will only see this if the woman does not acquiesce. Women are more than capable of doing the same things men are. The Indian society’s patriarchal views on women are incredibly hard to change; however, an individual woman can change herself for the better. Once this happens, many issues, such as rape, sex trafficking, education discrepancy, and gender disparity, in Delhi, Mumbai, and Calcutta (three most targeted locations for a woman) can subside. She can continue to work after marriage. She can think about things other than marriage. She can be trained in self-defense to obliterate the insecurities she might have around men. She can be part of a group and support system that wants the same things she does. I want to create this group. I have organized a ten-month workshop for women and men. The curriculum consists of self-defense, health and fitness, gender roles, Socratic seminars, power points, English speaking skills, basic computer skills, sports, emergency aid response, family planning, and entrepreneurship skills. After the ten-week workshop, city, urban, and rural men and women should have enough confidence to respect each other on the same level. I want to conduct this workshop through AIM Abroad. My goals and AIM Abroad’s goals match perfectly. I want to fire the grassroots organization by providing my “abroad” views. I will be nothing but pleasure to have around. I cannot wait for this opportunity!

Please discuss any related experiences or academic credentials.

I have volunteered with “Abha Seva Sadan.” It is a program that is building a hospital in rural Varanasi, India. While the hospital is being built and funded, medical camps are presented on a regular basis for the villagers. When I volunteered at Abha Seva Sadan, I translated English prescription instructions to Hindi. I helped the illiterates and younglings write down their health issues and information for the doctor to keep a record of. I also managed registration and guided rural patients to the correct rooms. Abha Seva Sadan gave me medical and volunteer experience in India. There, I learned Bhojpuri (Varanasi’s native language). I have co-founded my own organization called Kids’ Mission, which fund raises for the hospital being built in Varanasi, India.  I am also part of National English, Math, Social Studies, and Science Honor Societies here in USA. I have excelled academically in every subject. I attend the best public high school in the country, School for the Talented and Gifted, and have enough knowledge to help flourish a group of individuals in India.

Please explain what you would like to gain by volunteering with Aim Abroad.

I would like to implement my thesis and what I truly believe in. I have opportunities here that I wish every woman and man in India had. I want to be able to share my workshop, my story, and my beliefs with the people in the Indian community. I want to film my first-hand experience with Aim Abroad and publish it online to increase awareness worldwide. I want to revamp the Aim Abroad website and add pictures. I have connections with Stop Acid Attacks and People for Parity that can help Aim Abroad. I do not want to gain anything personally. I just want everyone to have an equal opportunity to succeed: man, woman, old, and young. Volunteering with Aim Abroad will broaden my horizons.