India brings classroom lessons to life
Tulane alumna Keren Tangen, left, meets with her supervisor Monica Singh and Singh"s boss Feroze Khan of the New Delhi YMCA Social and Human Development Department. (Photo from Keren Tangen)
Tangen, who earned a Global Social Work Certificate along with her master"s degree in December, completed her semester-long placement in New Delhi, India, at the New Delhi YMCA Social and Human Development Department.
Tangen created a needs assessment for the members of self-help groups, which in this context were primarily women"s microfinance and economic empowerment groups. She compiled and evaluated the results of the survey and provided a report with recommendations for the agency. In short, her work had a significant impact on programs that help improve women"s lives in New Delhi and beyond.
“Aside from getting hands-on experience creating a survey and analyzing the results, the most important thing I learned was how immensely culture affects every aspect of social work,” she said.
“Problem identification, engagement and intervention are expressed differently through different cultural lenses. This experience has made me much more aware of my own cultural lens. It will continue to inform my future practice as a reminder to always do my best to meet the client where they are in their culture, nationality, ethnicity and other identities.”
That cultural experience extended beyond her survey efforts, as Tangen said her favorite memory from her placement was celebrating Diwali with students in a remedial course at the Savda-Ghevra Community Center. Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, is India"s biggest and most important holiday of the year, which gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (or deepa) that Indians light outside their homes.
Tangen, who now lives in Seattle, hopes to continue her efforts by working with immigrant and resettled refugee children and families in that region.
Joseph Halm is marketing/communications coordinator for the Tulane School of Social Work.
