Emily Dang's Barefoot Movement
Donation protected
My name is Emily Dang, and I love connecting people, ideas and opportunities. I am currently a junior at Syracuse University working on an energy and sustainability initiative in India and Nepal. This summer, I have the opportunity to learn about solar energy engineering in India and take those teachings to deploy rechargeable energy power stations in a village in Nepal. I will be leaving for India on May 18th and coming back from Nepal on June 8th.
My learning experience in India will be one of the most unique experiences in the whole world. I will be learning from the 50 to 80 year-old grandmothers on how to build a solar energy system. These women represent communities from all around the world and study at a college in Tilonia, India named Barefoot College. Barefoot College is a non-government organization dedicated to improving services in rural communities through self-sufficient and sustainable solutions. I will be living on the Barefoot Campus and learning alongside the founder of the college himself, Bunker Roy.
After five days of learning in India, I will be traveling to Nepal for two weeks to deploy rechargeable solar energy systems with Thrive Projects, Power Nepal. As many of you may know, Nepal was hit with an earthquake last year that displaced millions of people and heavily impacted its infrastructure. Power Nepal is dedicated to contributing solar-integrated solutions to the rebuilding of Nepal. As a data analyst for Power Nepal, I will be working to understand how the systems are being deployed and what the daily lives of the villagers in Nepal are like. In order to serve the people, you must know the people, learn from the people, live with the people and listen to the people. So many solutions today are assumptions. We need to change that. We need to give power to the people: literally and figuratively.
Going on this trip will help me understand the different roles of energy in urban and rural communities. It will also teach me how different people around the world solve problems with the limited resources they have. As an International Relations and Information Management and Technology double major, I strive to bridge and demystify the gap between people and technology. Modern- and traditional-styled solutions need to be integrated together before we continue to innovate more solutions to problems we may not fully understand.
Connecting different people and ideas in my life have brought me to this once in a lifetime opportunity. These connections have shaped me to become a stronger critical thinker and a global citizen who is more aware of the problems in the world and the mechanisms we are using to solve them. All of you are part of the bigger picture too. I need all of your help to continue connecting the dots in India and Nepal.
The contributions made to this campaign will help me cover the following expenses:
- Airfare (Boston, India, Nepal)
- Visas (India and Nepal)
- Immunizations
- Food/Living accommodations
- Appropriate gear/tools for working in rugged and rough environment in Nepal Villages
* Thrive Projects, Power Nepal is covering $400 of my travel expenses.
My gratitude for any amount you are able to contribute to my energy exploration goes beyond words. My journal and camera will be by my side throughout every step of this trip. I plan to update my blog as frequently as I can with photos, journal entries and videos. This is going to be a learning experience for me, and I want all of you to be part of it. If you have any questions about my current circumstances and/or other ways to support me, please feel free to contact me directly.
My learning experience in India will be one of the most unique experiences in the whole world. I will be learning from the 50 to 80 year-old grandmothers on how to build a solar energy system. These women represent communities from all around the world and study at a college in Tilonia, India named Barefoot College. Barefoot College is a non-government organization dedicated to improving services in rural communities through self-sufficient and sustainable solutions. I will be living on the Barefoot Campus and learning alongside the founder of the college himself, Bunker Roy.
After five days of learning in India, I will be traveling to Nepal for two weeks to deploy rechargeable solar energy systems with Thrive Projects, Power Nepal. As many of you may know, Nepal was hit with an earthquake last year that displaced millions of people and heavily impacted its infrastructure. Power Nepal is dedicated to contributing solar-integrated solutions to the rebuilding of Nepal. As a data analyst for Power Nepal, I will be working to understand how the systems are being deployed and what the daily lives of the villagers in Nepal are like. In order to serve the people, you must know the people, learn from the people, live with the people and listen to the people. So many solutions today are assumptions. We need to change that. We need to give power to the people: literally and figuratively.
Going on this trip will help me understand the different roles of energy in urban and rural communities. It will also teach me how different people around the world solve problems with the limited resources they have. As an International Relations and Information Management and Technology double major, I strive to bridge and demystify the gap between people and technology. Modern- and traditional-styled solutions need to be integrated together before we continue to innovate more solutions to problems we may not fully understand.
Connecting different people and ideas in my life have brought me to this once in a lifetime opportunity. These connections have shaped me to become a stronger critical thinker and a global citizen who is more aware of the problems in the world and the mechanisms we are using to solve them. All of you are part of the bigger picture too. I need all of your help to continue connecting the dots in India and Nepal.
The contributions made to this campaign will help me cover the following expenses:
- Airfare (Boston, India, Nepal)
- Visas (India and Nepal)
- Immunizations
- Food/Living accommodations
- Appropriate gear/tools for working in rugged and rough environment in Nepal Villages
* Thrive Projects, Power Nepal is covering $400 of my travel expenses.
My gratitude for any amount you are able to contribute to my energy exploration goes beyond words. My journal and camera will be by my side throughout every step of this trip. I plan to update my blog as frequently as I can with photos, journal entries and videos. This is going to be a learning experience for me, and I want all of you to be part of it. If you have any questions about my current circumstances and/or other ways to support me, please feel free to contact me directly.
Organizer
Emily Dang
Organizer
Syracuse, NY