Hasta luego, India

8-weeks have gone so fast! I am already back in Cambridge, starting my last year at HKS. After this internship, I can surely say that the summer I had is an unforgettable one, I learned so much and also grew both personally and professionally. I wanted to close this blog series by briefly reflecting a little bit about what I am taking with me from this internship:

Why don’t we have structured Women Self-Help groups in Peru? After witnessing first-hand the importance of these groups in rural villages, not only from a development perspective but from an individual one (how empowered women feel when they are part of this group), I cannot help but wonder why our government hasn’t tested that approach. I am 100% sure that there is space in Peru to start promoting this type of organization and I feel committed to go deep into this topic.

The world is more homogenous than we think: this phrase is not meant to be interpreted as if there were no unique differences among countries, but instead to point out that most countries are facing the same issues. Visiting rural areas in India took me two years back in time to when I was doing fieldwork in Peru. Rural India is more similar to rural Peru than any other part of Peru. The resemblances were crazy, the kindness of the people, the type of issues they solve and the high sense of community made me feel like home. Realizing this brought to my attention the importance of collaboration, rural development should be a world effort, and good practices should be shared and adapted.

And finally, going back to the first blog post I have written in my life... Did my list come true?

Yes, it did! and this internship was far more than that.