NRI doc's social work with kids wins admirers
Thursday, February 10, 2011
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/NRI-docs-social-work-with-kids-wins-admirers/articleshow/7463550.cms
When Seema Desai walks into the corridors of New York University (NYU), her colleagues and students often stop by to ask if they could accompany her to India in her next visit. Their intention is to extend a helping hand to Seema in her social work in India. Unlike many young NRIs who make quick bucks with their business acumen, Seema's focus is mental health issues in India, particularly Gujarat.
Her mother Maya Desai is niece of late Moraji Desai and Seema is related to Bollywood actress Prachi Desai. Desai, 32, completed her medical school from Georgetown University followed by a fellowship in psychiatry residency and child psychiatry and presently works as an assistant clinical professor in NYU.
"I had been interested in doing health care work abroad for a long time, so when I learned that my uncle would be travelling to Gujarat to volunteer as a part of a medical camp, I immediately signed up to go. I was a part of a group of 17 Gujarati American physicians on the trip. I was the youngest member of the team. We met in the city of Rajkot, where we stayed for the duration of our trip. The objective was to do wellness screenings on children," said Seema.
"Each day we were transported in a bus to the schools, situated in rural villages. In seven days, we visited four different schools. Most of these were government-run 'ashramsalas'. The attendees of these schools are children of migrant labourers," she said. This very first experience left a deep impact on Seema, who was born at Queens in New York in 1978.
Following in her mother's footsteps, she went on to complete her psychiatry residency and child psychiatry fellowship in Southern California, while further pursuing mind body medicine as it applies to psychiatric practices.
For the past couple of years, Seema has volunteered for social services in India as a consultant in the field of mental health and wellness. One organisation she has worked with is US-based Share and Care Foundation, a not for profit group dedicated to youth development and women's empowerment in India. They run an annual child wellness camp in rural Gujarat.
