Service Project
Details about Sevayatra
11 students and 1 faculty member from the University of North Texas (UNT) visited3 metropolitan cities in North India: Delhi, Agra & Jaipurfor 11 days. The focus of the trip was to get an understandinginto India’s social sector with a specific emphasis on Disaster Management and Emergency Response. The trip included various visits to and projects with social enterprises and Non-profit organizations, peer interactions, talks by experts and thought-leaders. The group also visited a number of tourist locations and heritage sites in these cities including the TajMahalin Agra.
UNT students visited several non-profits and gained insight into their work:
• City walk conducted by kids providing an insight into the lives of street children
• Visit to a landfill site and meeting with scrap dealers and a non-profit which works with them
• “River Yamuna Walk” with a youth-focused non-profit engaged in issues relating to the environment and social development
• Water conservation service learning project
• Visit with a non-profit which works with communities of “Rickshaw-drivers” and their families.
• Service project and beneficiary interaction with a non-profit that works with destitute and homeless children
• Interactive session with one of the largest Diaspora philanthropy organizations focused on India.
Specific to the focus on Disaster Management, the group had the following interactions:
• Met with associates of a governmental agency that deals specifically with disaster management and recovery issues
• Visit and interactive session with a non-profit that seeks to protect the lives and livelihoods to people exposed to natural disasters
The group also participated in a number of peer-learning sessions:
• Interactive session at one of India’s oldest and leading social work schools
• Visit to a local university with a non-profit focused on addressing social issues through youth citizenship action
• Peer learning session at a business school where there was information exchange with local students as well as presentations on disaster preparedness across various sectors
Also included in the trip:
• Pre-departure and in-country orientation, providing social and cultural information on India
• Sightseeing and guided tours to a number of heritage sites across Delhi, Jaipur and Agra
• Cultural visit to and dinner at “Chokhi Dhani”, a replication of an ethnic Rajasthani village, offering local flavors of food, music, dance and hospitality
• Farewell dinner, including reflection of the trip experience