Judo Lata
What does it mean to have an impact? That was one of the core questions Judo Lata asked himself when he spotted flyers around More Hall advertising the study abroad program Engineering India: Grand Challenges Impact Lab (GCIL). Being a STEM major, he knew he wanted an experience that aligned with his Civil & Environmental Engineering major while providing an opportunity to solve real-world problems in an immersive and exciting environment.
“The main objective of GCIL is to devise and create your own business, but not just any business: a social enterprise, a startup. Focused on the process of design thinking, GCIL is a real-world application of this philosophy. You must be able to fail fast and problem solve quickly. By the end of the 10 weeks, students are expected to have a viable and sustainable business plan that has environmental, social, financial, or any other sort of impact.”
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GCIL’s home base is in Bangalore, India. Judo and his classmates stayed at the Indian Social Institute (ISI), a Jesuit institution in Benson Town. Each student had her or his own room and bathroom that came with a bucket for washing (in lieu of a shower). Staff members at ISI would prepare home-style South Indian breakfast, lunch and dinner for the students such as masala dosa, chow chow bhath and many different kinds of spicy curries. Every once in a while, the staff would prepare fried chicken and fries for their American guests. Though the meals were delicious, some of Judo’s favorite moments occurred during tea time at 10:30am or 4:30pm.
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“Tea time was awesome because it was a mini break from the day. It was a structured time where the purpose was to relax, take a break and interact with people.”
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In addition to the food and tea breaks, Judo particularly enjoyed the lush environment of ISI compared to the cosmopolitan city.
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"Bangalore was once crowned the Garden City of India, but because of uncontrolled urbanization, trees have been replaced by abounding concrete buildings and a monolithic metro. Green space is hard to come by, but luckily for us we could step out of our dormitories into a tropical oasis: tall palms, an array of flowers, a jackfruit tree, plumerias and grass surrounded the ISI campus.”
Top: Group photo at Bhoga Nandeeshwara Temple in the Nandi Hills outside of Bangalore. Bottom: The GCIL group inside a coracle boat at the Hampi UNESCO World Heritage Site. Judo Lata
A significant component of exploring a new city is investigating the best local eateries. When Judo and his friends ate outside of their charming ISI accommodations, there was one reliable joint that hit the spot every time.
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“Whether it be a quick bite to eat after the gym or a butter chicken craving, 7 Plates was the spot. We befriended the manager, Yunus, who would always greet us with a smile and expedite our orders. Most importantly this place was open late, until 1am, a suitable replacement for the Ave's Aladdin Gyro-cery.”
Judo's classmates Keenan (left) and Olivia (right) celebrating Holi with environmentally-friendly colors. Tyler Ung
Studying in the GCIL program was intense. Judo attended classes 6 days per week, which proved to be an exhausting yet rewarding schedule. Assignments for his courses were time-intensive and involved applying classroom lessons to the local environment.
“One organization Sukhibhava, whose goal is to bring menstrual health education to communities, hosted an "Impact-a-Thon." The students were tasked to identify and characterize various slum communities all over the city as temporary, semi-established or established. We created a map and survey to conduct our research. We split into 4 teams comprised of UW students, a Sukhibhava trainer and a student translator from St. Joseph's College. In a span of two days we covered 20 communities and interviewed some of the most welcoming people.”
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The students gathered demographic data through direct conversations with locals. They compiled information about the type of community; number of homes and people; common occupations; migrant status; accessibility to water, school, health services and financial services; and female hygiene practices.
“Menstruation is a taboo topic, and being males as well as foreigners some of us were hesitant. However, our preconceived ideas about the reaction of these people living in such poverty and hardship were totally unfounded. These people were so sweet. They invited us in for chai, lunch, and greeted us with the utmost respect and hospitality.”
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Another organization Judo encountered while abroad was Annadana, which focuses on assisting farmers across the country to adopt sustainable, chemical-free agricultural practices. One of their locations is within the Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary of the Western Ghats, one of eight biological diversity hotspots in the world. After train, bus and ferry rides, Judo and his classmates arrived in the Indian countryside full of extensive rice paddies and roaming water buffaloes.
“One evening in particular has stuck in my memory. We were taken to Annadana's private lake. The sun was setting, the sky was a lovely peach, we were surrounded by trees along the lake’s receding water line. One by one we jumped into the lake. I jumped in first, followed by our professor Dr. Julian Marshall, who was also wearing his jeans, fedora and button-up shirt. In a moment of pure bliss we enjoyed the bizarre freedom of being fully clothed in water. We were a bit hesitant to jump in for fear of the water quality, but it was refreshing and warmer than lakes we are used to.”
Unique experiences like this is why Judo advises future study abroad students to immerse themselves within the community and culture they are exploring and learning about. Venturing into the unknown was incredibly rewarding for him, as he learned firsthand what it takes to make an impact.
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“I understand and have a better view of what development work entails and where the wave of entrepreneurship is moving. If you want to create an impact, first and foremost you have to have passion.”
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Written by Madison Gallagher
Photos courtesy of Judo Lata and Tyler Ung
The lake at Annadana in the Western Ghats. Judo Lata
Published Mar. 2018