June.17.2023

The second week of orientation flew by just as fast as the first, and I am continuously awed by the wealth of insights that each of our group conversations bring. These past few days, I dove deeper into the history of the region and organizations that I will be working with. Prior to this research, I had never really stopped and thought about the background of a group that I was to work in, so I really appreciated this activity.

On the project forefront, I have been conducting a literature review on the impact of infrastructure on healthcare. The primary director of my work has been a toolkit co-developed by NEST360 and UNICEF. Dr. Christine Bohne, the in-country mentor for my project, pointed me towards an incredibly informative overview on infrastructure (linked here if you would like to read). I have used the abundance of resources available on the toolkit to understand my work, and I have also supplemented this knowledge through literature searches. Apart from the literature review, I have been familiarizing myself with the existing materials for this project. Overall, I hope to step into Dar next week with a more thorough background that can inform my field work here.

Finally, on the more social side, Dr. Taylor, Dr. Nejad, and all of the Rice360 interns enjoyed a very eventful team bonding activity at an escape room (we did not escape). I will definitely be missing the whole team as I prepare to go abroad with Ojas and Annika, but we’ve all promised to stay in touch and send updates (and pictures!!) throughout the summer. In my downtime, I’ve been packing and preparing for our departure next Tuesday, June 20th, which means a lot of paperwork and begging that my suitcase closes shut. I don’t have too many pictures from this week, but promise to include more in the future! Stay tuned for more parts, but next in Dar!

Shrutika