Q&A: Founder of Indicorps on volunteering and the power of "doing something"

Going back to India and giving back to India can be the experience of a lifetime, says Sonal Shah

A small town in Kachchh now has clean water to drink because of the wells and dams built by Shezeen Suleman, a recent Environmental Science graduate of the University of Toronto. Gauriv Braniami, 28, an investment banker, started a mentoring program for children living in the slums of Gujurat.

“Even if one of these kids graduates high school, that impacts his brothers, sisters and parents…not to mention the next generation of his family. Most of these kids are awed when they see successful people from America give up their riches to come live in their town,” says Sonal Shah, co-founder and US Director of Indicorps. Indicorps is a US-based non-profit organization that offers fellowships to about a dozen Indian-Americans, like Suleman and Braniami, to work on development projects in India each year.

In Indicorps, first generation American-raised Indians are given a chance to connect with their heritage. For many, traveling to India for one year for development is appealing but does not seem within reach. Shah refers to this doubt as an “opportunity missed” and the reason why Indicorps was created.

“People are afraid to go to India for one year. It is not a huge amount of your time, and sometimes we just need to stop. We get so worried about the one year we are taking off -- we spend all our time worrying because we think our future is going to be totally vamped, when in fact it will be enriched,” said Shah.

Shah takes time out of her busy schedule -- she is also a director for Goldman Sachs and practices daily meditation -- to talk with ABCDLady.

Can you tell our readers unfamiliar with your project what Indicorps is?
Indicorps is people who want to go to India and do something positive, whether it’s volunteering their time or helping with a development. Many NGOs in India want volunteers but don’t know how to deal with people coming from oversees. Indicorps bridges that gap and helps Indian organizations define projects in advance for the volunteers. We wanted to have a structured program they could go to, but more importantly, we wanted to make sure that the project was working. We go to the projects, we design projects where they need help and then we ask people to apply to those projects in rural areas. During the application process we ask you to pick out which projects you think you can do. It’s completely different with the other organizations. For example, in the Peace Corps you may tell them, “I want to teach,” but you don’t know what situation you will be in or to what country you will be sent. Whereas we tell you what area you are going to, where you will be living and how the project will work. We want to make sure people have a fulfilling experience.

Where did the idea for Indicorps originate?
My sister and I went to India after college to find projects to do and we had many problems. When we found a project it took a lot of time to integrate us into the project because they did not know what to do. My brother went with Swadhyay [a religious organization]; his project was defined by the living standards, not necessarily the project itself. A lot of people want to do this sort of thing – so we talked to the Peace Corps and Jesuit Corps and we asked what they thought of their experience? We also asked volunteers, “What did you learn?” We realized two things: First, we wanted and needed to help define projects and whatever we could do to help would be good. Second, volunteers needed reflection time during the project, they needed a retreat program. It was really easy to get caught up in what we were trying to achieve. The big picture was about reflection and personal growth, not just about development.

Have you dealt with somebody who came back home because they were not comfortable with the conditions? Or did not have the “personal growth” experience?
No one has come back early; in fact our challenge is getting people to return from India because just as they are beginning to realize what they can do, they have to leave. About 50 percent of fellows stay an extra year. The ones that leave after a year of service remain very connected to the community. Still, I don’t want to diminish the challenges. It’s not easy to deal with all the crap that goes on in India and the laid back attitude that most people have of, “Oh don’t worry it will get done tomorrow.” The fellows become role models for their own community.

"Our challenge is getting people to return from India because just as they are beginning to realize what they can do, they have to leave."

What are your long-term aspirations for Indicorps? What are your hopes for the fellows as they return to this country?
My long-term aspiration for Indicorps…I don’t think we will become huge -- we may expand to thirty, forty fellows a year. Our program will aim for continued development and crafting of leaders. What we hope to do eventually is help organize volunteer opportunities in India. Hopefully we can recapture fellows and bring that sentiment back to the U.S. We can bring that sentiment back to our own country and do the same thing. You have the ability and opportunity to do something good regardless of your occupation. One of the things that India has taught us is that very successful lawyers, doctors and architects who make millions still do community work. Human beings should not forget society in the process and that’s why we hope the fellows do good deeds when they come back. If you see something not working don’t just sit back and complain about it, do something, take action.

Visit www.Indicorps.org for more information on how you can become a fellow.

Chhayal Parikh is pursuing her Masters of Arts in Interactive Journalism at American University in Washington DC.

Back to Top