AID volunteers Vidya Jonnalagadda (formerly AID Boston) and Srihari Dukkipati (formerly AID San Diego) share their perspectives on working for AID in the US and in India.

Q: What activities do you organize at AID-Hyderabad?
Vidya: In Telugu medium government schools, we train Baal Sakhis (paid staff) to demonstrate science experiments (6—7 class), organize teacher training workshops, record lessons for TV and prepare material for slow readers in classes 1-2.

Q: What is the difference between working for AID in the US and India?
Vidya: In the US, the actual work was mostly fundraising events. At AID-Hyderabad, we ourselves interact with the people we hope to help. We have lots of intense discussions here also, but [they] are based on our experiences and focused on policy/work plans for the next week/month.

Q: Are the chapter dynamics similar to AID US?
Srihari: Quite different, as hiring paid staff in India is a necessity to do field work. The diverse volunteer workforce is a big plus, but it can be challenging to deal with.

Q: Are you aware of any misconceptions that we carry here?
Srihari: While a business-like approach with NGOs might work at first, once trust is established, we need to give more leeway in decision-making to them, provided the initial and final goals are not tangential. The major impediment in AID is continuity: when a project coordinator builds a rapport, that relationship doesn't always transfer to the next person taking up that project. This transfer might be facilitated by coaching and documentation.

Q. What keeps you motivated?
Srihari: For me, it is the people, the children, the work, the successes and opportunities to learn.
Vidya: It is the joy of creating teaching material and smiles on the faces of children when they appreciate cool concepts in science.

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Srihari Dukkipati worked for Qualcomm in San Diego after his MS, and transferred to Hyderabad in 2005.

Vidya Jonnalagadda did her PhD at UPenn, spent several years in India and came back to do a post-doctoral position at MIT, Boston. She returned to Hyderabad in 2005.