Ambassadorial Adventures

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Ambassadorial Adventures

• Luke Juran
• MA International Economics
• PhD student Dept. of Geography
• Disaster Reconstruction
• University of Iowa
• Rotary Club of Monticello
• 29 June 2009

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Ambassadorial Scholarship

• Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar 2008-09 to India
• Prestigious and generous award (23,000)
• Oldest and best known program (1947)
• Most expenditures after PolioPlus
• 38,0000 students from gt 100 countries have
  studied in gt 70 countries
• Made possible by YOUR donations to the Rotary
  Foundation. THANK YOU!

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Mission and Objectives

• Carry out Rotarys precepts, especially SERVICE
  ABOVE SELF
• Foster personal and professional development of a
  scholar
• 1. Attend a university
• 2. Give presentations
• 3. Get involved in projects and activities

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The Team

• Sponsor Club Dubuque
• Sponsor District 5970 (DG William C Jacobson)
• Sponsor Counselor Guy Gard
• Host District 3230 (DG Subu)
• Host Counselor Murali Rao (Krishna Sai,
  Sridhar)
• Scholarship Coordinator Brent Drage (Evanston)
• Advisors Drs. Prema Rajagopalan, Rex Honey, and
  Paul Greenough
• Research Logistics Chidambaram

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Host Country, State, and City

• India 1.17B population
• 80.5 Hindu
• 13.4 Muslim
• 2.3 Christian
• 2 Sikh
• Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, et al.
• Tamil Nadu state 65M (SE tip of India)
• Chennai city 7M (port city on the coast,
  capital of Tamil Nadu, formerly Madras)
• Language Tamil

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Tamil Nadu and Chennai

• 50,216 sq/m (Iowa 56,272 sq/m)
• 600 miles of coastline
• Tropical climate monsoon June-Sep and Oct-Dec
• Agriculture coconuts, rice, bananas, cotton,
  rubber, sugarcane, flowers, fishing and
  aquaculture
• Textile industries (cotton and silk)
• Chennai the 4th largest city in India
• Booming IT industry, but hurt by recent economy

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Indian Institute of Technology-Madras

• Consortium of seven IITs throughout country
• Each year 400,000 students take admission exam
  for lt 10,000 freshman seats
• Indias MIT specializes in all engineering
• 670 acre campus with pond, places of worship,
  coffee shop, restaurants, sports facilities, and
  trails (sanctuary in the city)
• Flora and fauna abundant

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Indian Institute of Technology-Madras

• Full-time PhD student
• Socio-technical engineering of post-tsunami
  reconstruction in coastal fishing villages
• Study water, sewage, and housing infrastructure
  in permanent resettlement areas
• Field research
• Visited more than 20 sites
• Interviewed displaced affectees
• Severe lack of water and sewage infrastructure,
  poor quality of housing

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Ambassadorial Presentations

• 24 presentations abroad during Scholarship year
• Presented in 3 districts
• 3230 Chennai, India (Host District)
• 2980 Nagapattinam, India
• 3220 Colombo, Sri Lanka
• 3 lectures at IIT-M
• Bethel School and St. Antonys School Interact
  Clubs
• World Understanding Day (Rotarys birthday)
  with Madras Midtown
• Destiny 09-10 seminar for incoming First
  Ladies

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Ambassadorial Projects and Activities

• Rotary-related projects
• Hosted dinner for GSE team member from Brazil
• St. Antonys School Interact elocution contest,
  Childrens Day, and water treatment project
• Youthfest with Madras Northwest
• Green Velachery with Velachery
• Three medical camps for women sponsored by a
  group of clubs
• Christmas visit to orphanage with Colombo Uptown
  in Sri Lanka

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Ambassadorial Projects and Activities

• Self-initiated projects
• Tutored Sri Ram and Abi Sheik (neighbors) in
  English
• Donated funds to support 1 student 1 yr. in Sri
  Lanka
• Full day volunteer teacher at Sarvodaya Vidyalay
• Hosted exchange student from U. Iowa for 1 week
• Adopted two neighborhood families
• Donated clothes, cooking utensils, books, etc. to
  Samajam (local orphanage)
• Organized formal seminar at university

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Ambassadorial Projects and Activities

• Self-initiated projects
• Organized donation of for 2,750 for 107 goats
• Dubuque Rotary Club donated 2,000
• Friends and family donated remainder
• Two rounds of donations (Jan and Apr 2009)
• Four villages Kallikudi, Melur, Velloor, and
  Sengapadi
• Impact study implemented
• Poor, rural women belonging to Mahasemam, a
  microfinance org.

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• It is impossible to spend a year abroad without
  indelibly changing

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• 1. Mumbai terror attacks

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• 2. Cyclone Nisha

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• 3. Indian national election

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• 4. Offensive against LTTE by Sri Lankan govt.

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Five Events that Shaped my Life

• 5. Getting married

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Lessons Learned R-O-T-A-R-Y

• R RESPECT other countries, cultures, and
  religions
• O OPPORTUNTIES must be sought and seized to
  travel, explore, learn, and push your limits
• T be THANKFUL for all you have, it can always
  be worse
• A be AWARE of world events and how the world is
  interconnected and interdependent
• R REMEMBER all people are basically the same
• Y the YOUTH represent a powerful investment

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• Thank you for Rotarys support!