Reflections: My Journey as a Development Professional

Tracing her journey from her roots to the present, the author reconnects with her deep desire ‘to make a difference’ to the lives of people and reaffirms her decision to work to help the underprivileged rural poor

A round 800 million people live in the villages of India; therefore, any account of India is incomplete without a reference to rural India. I have experienced rustic lifestyles closely during my childhood as well as professional life; hence, I have gathered, what I consider, invaluable experience of rural India. I often ask myself, have I in any way made a difference to the lives of the underprivileged and deprived people? Maybe yes and maybe no.

Everybody embarks upon this journey called life, full of ups and downs, happiness and sorrow, gains and losses. This trip may be exhilarating, exhausting and challenging in equal measure. Will the wealth that I am accumulating assure me happiness? Is the exercise of earning money beyond a point meaningful and purposeful? In spite of the vicissitudes of life, I would like to take out a moment from my life to think of helping out those who are oppressed and downtrodden. I closed my eyes and went down memory lane to the time when I graduated from Assam Agricultural University with a degree in Veterinary Science in 2002.

After clearing a tough selection process, I was selected to join as an apprentice in PRADAN, an organization devoted to shape the future of rural India. On the one hand, I was thrilled that I got the job, leaving behind many of my classmates; on the other hand, I was afraid of working in a naxalite-infested tribal village and staying more than a thousand kilometres away from North Lakhimpur district of Assam, which is my home town. Setting aside all my apprehensions and anxieties, I proceeded to a nondescript place in Barhi subdivision in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand.