Me

I’m a 2011 GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) PULSE participant. The GSK PULSE Partnership program, launched in April 2009, is an initiative that gives employees an opportunity to use their professional skills and knowledge during a three or six month immersion experience within a non-profit or non-governmental organization (PULSE Partner) to make a sustainable difference for communities and patients in need. For more about the PULSE program: http://www.gsk.com/community/pulse

For the next 6 months, I’ll be working with Direct Relief International (DRI), a non-sectarian, non-profit, disaster relief and health assistance organization located in Santa Barbara, California, USA. DRI provides medical goods to institutions and organizations serving those affected by poverty, natural disasters, and civil unrest throughout the world. DRI currently works in partnership with hospitals, clinics, and non-profit organizations throughout the United States as well as Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. My time with DRI will be focused on exploring the feasibility of establishing a National Charitable Medicine Foundation in India to increase access to medical products for people in India. For more about DRI: www.directrelief.org

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Heads Carolina, Tails California
(Found a country station!!)

..Decided to go to Mumbai straight from California without stopping in NC..pretty much based on a coin toss, and also due to that blissful feeling I get every time I think of domestic travel

Last week in SB, a frantic rush to get in everything I missed out on over the month I've been here and getting ready for the trip. Met Dr. Shaikh, one of the board members at DRI and the chief of staff at the cottage hospitals in Santa Barbara. Having moved here from India 30 years ago, she was a great resource to prep for India both from a personal and a DRI perspective: Buy Deet, Wear western attire for business meetings, etc.

We talked about Cervical Cancer screening for rural women, and I'm so very excited about the possibility of making that happen. Cervical Cancer is apparently the highest form of cancer affecting women of India, and is the cause of 20% of all deaths among women  (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1292993). Similar to the now well documented transmission of HIV/AIDS among migratory, low income populations in India, the transmission of cervical cancer is as much complicated.  Being a preventable disease through screening and prophylactic vaccines i.e. Cervarix, it will truly be life saving to implement screening programs for rural women. Fingers crossed..

The last week quickly became even more bitter sweet - Kristin, the PULSE contact at DRI, is leaving DRI for a very exciting opportunity at TOMS shoe company, that donates a pair of shoes to a child in need each time a pair of shoes is purchased. Any time shoes are coupled with giving, I call it a win-win..Fare well Kristin..DRI's loss will be TOMS' gain, no doubt about that. Had a lovely evening at Kristin's going away at Brewhouse, home of the cruel prawn - ask Enrique (GSK Spain) for more details! Kristin's roommate had lived in Sri Lanka for three years and we chatted nostalgically about the wonder that is Sri Lanka..I thought I was biased when I said this..but in her own words (and I really am quoting her word to word), "nothing else compares". I concur..

After an amazing month in Santa Barbra, I'm packing for Mumbai as we speak..and just cant wait to get there!!!!
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