Lana Rabinovitch - Mumbai, India
Read Lana's answers to visitor questions
About Lana
Who are you?
I am a recent Quebec Bar school graduate, having completed my BCL/LLB degree from McGill University in December 2006. Prior to that, I attended Concordia University, finishing with a BA in Communication Studies.
What do you do in Mumbai, India?
I work with a disaster relief management non-profit organization.
Why did you decide to take part in AKFC’s Fellowship in International Development Management?
I want to see first hand the impact of NGO-type work on its beneficiaries. Given that my long-term goal is to work in an organization that focuses on international development through various initiatives, increased exposure to the plight and actual situation of the developing world and first-hand experience working alongside organizations can only help foster an accurate depiction of the possible issues and challenges I will face and prepare me to assist with these obstacles.
I am also interning overseas in order to experience a new culture, to discover a different place and to test my adaptation skills. I feel the best way to learn about a different country is to live in its communities and interact with its inhabitants for a prolonged period of time. That is the only true way to know the spirit and pulse of a foreign place.
Have you had any previous experience living and working overseas?
Two summers ago, I was chosen to participate in an internship with Canadian Crossroads International in Mali. Living with a Malian family and working alongside members of the community really opened up my eyes to the problems and dilemmas that people in underdeveloped countries face on a daily basis. It was an immensely rewarding experience.
Mad, Mad Mumbai
I arrived at the Mumbai airport about 1 month ago. Prior to that, I spent 1 week in Delhi, learning about Aga Khan Foundation, meeting different people, and trying to figure out how to handle the 55 ºC temperature without fainting. In Mumbai, I was picked up by a car sent by my host organization, Focus Humanitarian Assistance. How wrong I was to think Delhi drivers were the craziest in India! Mumbai far surpassed anything I saw in Delhi. The sheer amount of people, either walking or on bikes, mixed with the traffic is an overwhelming sight. The cacophony of horns, screeching tires, and more horns is borderline unbearable.
Crossing the street is a real talent here. I thought I would have a competitive edge, as I come from Montreal, the breeding ground for jaywalkers. How wrong I was! It took me 20 minutes to cross the street and I was schvitzing by the time I got to the other side (not because of the 95% humidity but because of the valiant street crossing effort). Determined to cut down on my street crossing time, I consulted my co-workers for advice. I was told in my street crossing 101 lecture that it’s essential not to make eye contact with drivers. I have to look out of the corner of my eye to see if there is any immediate oncoming traffic. If there is none, then I must cross the street, eyes forward as the cars will stop for me. The same does not hold true for buses and trucks which, warned my co-workers, will not stop. I am proud to announce that I can now skip across the streets in less than 40 seconds flat, even during rush hour.
Lana's answers to visitor questions
Did you find that language was a great barrier in becoming effective in the community you’re working in? - Edward Rampone , Victoria B.C.
I was working in the head office, which was located in Mumbai. As such, I did not have any problems with language, as everyone in the office spoke English fluently. However, when I did go out to the field, I experienced quite a bit of frustration due to the fact that I could not communicate with the villagers. I believe, as a foreigner working abroad, that for the sake of efficiency and effectiveness, one should be familiar with the language and make all efforts to obtain language training prior to commencing work.
When language is not on your side you can be effective in other ways, such as supporting the staff you are working with, assisting in the planning of activities, and tying up administrative ends. All these actions will contribute to the overall effectiveness of your unit (work group) in the community.
Dear Lana, what challenges do the people you help have to overcome on a daily basis?
The people I worked with were faced with many challenges. I have listed the ones that come to mind:
- Reduced or non-existent livelihoods due to natural disasters (and thus the inability to recover post-disaster)
- Under-nutrition and malnutrition
- Unemployment and under-employment
- Minimal access to health professionals and medicines,
- Lack of education, illiteracy
- High occurrences of farmer suicide
- Living in sequestered communities (making it hard to travel for work and hard to access)
- Absence of sound infrastructure (i.e.: access roads)
Hi Lana, how did you get involved with this internship? – Victoria B.C
Before I started my career in law, I wanted to explore international development as I have a keen interest for working abroad and have a personal quest for social justice. I went onto the CIDA website and scrolled through the many internship positions until I found this one. I applied and was accepted. It is that simple!
What is housing like in India , generally? – Victoria B.C.
I can only speak to housing in big cities, as that is where I spent the majority of my time. India is a very overpopulated country, so in large cities, space is a rare jewel. In Mumbai, housing is very expensive (on a side note, I heard that the cost for renting office space in South Mumbai is comparable to Manhattan). Given that most people live in poverty and thus cannot afford housing, a lot of “houses” or huts are set up on the streets or in parking lots. Especially true in Mumbai, there are dozens of very intricately built slum housing areas. Inhabitants will use sheets of metal with blue tarpaulin and whatever other material they can find and construct a shanty for themselves and their family members. Often, 10 people will live in one room, no bigger than a few feet wide by a few feet long. These huts are often grouped together, stuck side by side, and develop into slums with small passage way between the house- the slums become a mini-city and the huts become almost permanent fixtures. For those that are not able to find space in the slums, they set up can along the train tracks, on the sidewalks, in front of stores, etc.- basically wherever they can find space. These types of houses are less permanent and consist of using a sheet to serve as a tent. Sanitation and hygiene is a big problem for street and slum dwellers as access to toilets and clean water is difficult and often costly.
