Applications for students from UC Berkeley wishing to volunteer on-campus for the 2009-2010 school year or in India during Summer 2010 are currently closed.  Please check back in Fall 2010 for application details for the following year.

What is involved in a team working with HMS? The details below will give you a sense of some of the range of activities you might be involved in as an HMS volunteer, though you will be expected to help out with all aspects of the project, and many of these activities change in the field depending on the particular year’s projects:

Health Education

• training, recruiting, motivating, and following up with college volunteers in India to conduct health & hygiene lessons
• approach colleges, primary schools, doctors clinics, etc. to introduce our program and form partnerships
• bridging gaps between volunteers, college faculty, primary school principles and teachers, parents, and also primary school children
• come up with creative and participatory ways to disseminate health and water sanitation information (i.e. posters, pamphlets, songs, skits, etc.)
• create new partnerships and maintain existing partnerships with colleges, primary schools, doctors clinics, NGO’s, womens groups
• work with translators to conduct presentations about health, water sanitation, and low-cost treatment technologies in the community
• come up with creative and participatory ways to disseminate health and water sanitation information (i.e. posters, pamphlets, songs, skits, etc.)
• conduct research and consult with professionals and faculty to ensure that we are using the most current information on health and water
• constantly gather feedback from all of our contacts to help improve the program
• regular review of recent literature on education-based public health interventions, evaluation tools, and study methods, including review of other interventions in developing countries on hygiene and safe drinking water
• conduct in-home observations to obtain key information on hygiene behaviors, community demographics, water sources, health status to add to our needs-assessment data
• work with evaluation team to test evaluation tools and adjust and assess our health education intervention accordingly

Water Quality Testing

• Environmental Sampling and Water Quality Testing – become proficient in proper water sampling and in the laboratory techniques used in the testing for e. coli, total coliform, pH, temperature, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and chlorine residual.
• Volunteer Management – Recruit and motivate volunteers in Mumbai/Hubli; Ensure communication
  about volunteer needs; attend events when appropriate. Run volunteer meetings and provide
  feedback on their progress.
• Training – Conduct Water Quality Testing trainings for new volunteers, and follow-up sessions with returning ones.
• Curriculum and materials development – ensure materials are designed, translated, and printed.
• Create new materials on laboratory techniques as necessary. Ensure information is technically sound through consultations with professionals and Berkeley faculty.
• Communication – Ensure all students are informed about events within the project and have the
  opportunity to meet and share experiences. Work with faculty advisors in India-based colleges to
  coordinate student groups.
• Must be able to work individually as well as in a group

Technology Development and Design

• for the Spring Semester 2010, work with a team to develop a prototype, to be implemented in Hubli, India in summer 2010; either the sanitation team or the drinking water team
• one team will develop a prototype which improves on the environmental sustainability and access for sanitation practices
• the other team will try to improve the effectiveness and ease of use of low-cost water filters currently available for household use in India
• prototype development will require literature research, contacting experts in the field, laboratory experimentation, drawing technical designs and constructing the prototype itself
• prototype implementation will require detailed user observation studies, networking with local suppliers in India, and coordinating with local partners to evaluate the feasibility for producing, supplying, selling and operating the prototype created
• two team reports will be created; one detailing the prototype design created during Spring 2010, the other evaluating the potential for implementation in India, and including recommendations for product modifications

For questions about this position in Hubli, please contact: zzburt(at)gmail.com
For questions about this position in Mumbai, please contact: andrea.silverman(at)gmail.com

Evaluation

• In 2008, HMS launched a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) program to assess the impact of its activities on the target communities. Future M&E projects may include needs assessments in new communities that HMS expands to, further epidemiological studies, as well as extensive lab testing of water and devices. The position entails a field component in Mumbai as well as follow-up work in Berkeley, with the following

Current Study:

• Data Collection: Coordinate team of surveyors and supervise data collection
• Water Quality Sampling: Assist local college students in collecting water samples, performing laboratory analyses and compiling results (training in lab techniques will be provided)
• Data Analysis: Analyze the health and water quality data using statistical software (Stata, SAS)
• Market Surveys: Conducting continual surveys of the development of new technologies in India and around the world. Evaluation of feasibility and methods of disseminating technologies within the communities HMS works with.

Future Studies:

• Needs Assessments: Conduct interviews and surveys with communities (households, key informants, health workers, shopkeepers, etc.) to obtain key information on hygiene behaviors, community demographics, water sources, health status etc.
• Public Health Studies: Design and implement studies, develop and pilot data collection instruments, recruit and train surveyors from local colleges, complete IRB procedures

Publicity & Communication

• revise our health education manual using illustrations, diagrams, and easy-to-follow activities
• creating and distributing fliers for events
• gathering and organizing information about HMS, making it presentable
• updating and designing HMS’s website
• draft, edit, and circulate monthly HMS newsletter
• work with fundraising team to create posters and advertisements for fundraising efforts
• liaison between HMS and media
• keep communication resources filed and organized

Fundraising & Finances

• with help from other team members, head up the organization of HMS fundraising events
• network with funding organizations and meet with them as needed
• apply for funds from open calls for proposals, solicit foundations for funding
• take care of paperwork necessary to handle HMS budget and finances
• create up-to-date budgets for HMS reports
• organize creative fundraising events
• assist individual HMS members with their own fundraising efforts
• keep all finances and budget information filed, organized, and transparent

Donate

The Mumbai Project is currently funded by small grants and private donations, and all of the work is done on a volunteer basis. Donations may go towards funding student travel expenses, lab supplies for use in Mumbai and at UCB, as well as for educational materials used in our health workshops. Your donation is tax deductable!

Make a secure online donation through Big Ideas at Berkeley. Please specify that the donation is for the Mumbai Project.

Online Donation Form