For the community connection part of my pre-trip training, I had to speak with a member of my nonprofit organization who would be able to provide me with advice and context for my upcoming internship. I spoke with Miss Robin Young, who is director of programs at CFHI (Child Family Health International), and was in charge of organizing my Delhi trip in conjunction with my in-country non-profit SPYM (Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses). CFHI is a global health non-profit based in California that works to set up international service programs in a variety of countries worldwide. They have broad areas of focus in Global Health, Clinical Work, and Public Health. At the same time, they try to be flexible when deciding which programs to cover. As an example, if a specific need comes up at a specific time- such as a fight against a certain disease- they will then adjust their programs to meet that need. At any one time, CFHI runs 37 to 40 programs in 10 countries, all centered in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
In terms of determining social issues/policies to address and finding organizations to connect with, there is a general model that CFHI follows. CFHI has local coordinators and contacts in their 10 countries, and when there is an issue to work on or a program to implement, the local coordinators will get CFHI in touch with the appropriate non-profit, hospital, or family practice. In my case, the issue of drug rehabilitation in India led the local Delhi coordinators to connect CFHI with SPYM, and that is how my project was formed. Miss Young referred to this as a “cadre of pre-receptors”(though in some cases the local coordinators might be part of a non-profit itself). In general, advocacy and policy work is not something CFHI does directly. However, the in-country partners often try and do advocacy work and implement policy change on their own, and an example is a palliative care initiative that was started through a CFHI partner in Trivandrum, India.
In regards to my role at the organization, the structure of CFHI programs is all about nesting short term internships into longer term partnerships and broader goals. I will be coming in with a couple of other interns, and we will all work together this summer. We will be implementing one phase of the project, and when we leave, CFHI’s partnership with SPYM will continue, with new interns and new projects, all working towards the same long-term goal of drug rehabilitation in Delhi. When I leave, I might not a direct worker for CFHI anymore, but I will be an advocate of the issue back in the United States as I share my experiences and lessons with those around me.