Finding a home on the CSF Global Team
Leaving my home in India to come here was an extremely exciting and daunting experience. Being an M-HEAL member is one of the few special things that has made me feel like I truly belong at the University of Michigan. I applied to be a part of the CSF Global team as a freshman in Winter 2018 because I love working with children and am also enthusiastic about understanding biotechnology and its applications. In addition to allowing me to do meaningful work that is close to my heart, being in this team has also allowed me to meet some great, funny and motivated people like my teammates Maddie, Kelly and Elijah. Being in a small focused team that just formed has allowed me to shape our decisions and influence our successes to a significant degree and I feel very grateful for this chance.
I have learnt numerous things about Cerebral Palsy, Bangladesh and assistive technology along with my team as we research and prepare for our Needs Assessment trip this summer. One of the most interesting aspects of our research has been about trying to understand the culture of Bangladesh and the lifestyles of Bangladeshi people. We met up with some students in the Bangladeshi Students Association who had been to Bangladesh themselves so we could understand gain deeper insights into practical knowledge that would prove to be useful when we try to connect with patients, their parents and healthcare workers in Bangladesh.
I learnt that there is a huge lack of provisions in terms of healthcare for a vast majority in rural areas. In these areas faith healers are immensely popular and people are suspicious of modern medicine and technology. I was touched after learning about the struggles that so many innocent children face. There is a huge stigma against disability of any kind in rural Bangladesh, and it is common for parents to abandon their babies for this reason. These stories really moved me. Moreover, getting the chance to talk to so many people (like our faculty advisor Dr. Mousumi Banerjee) who are doing great work to improve living standards in developing countries like Bangladesh and my own country, India has been truly inspiring. I can’t wait to meet the children of Sirajganj, understand their problems and try my absolute best to build happier lives for them.
- Anjali Vyas