Personal Statement

During my second year at sophomore at Brown University, I was permitted to join AIDS in International Perspective, a seminar created for juniors and seniors with a background interest in the global affects of HIV/AIDS.   The intensity of the class combined with the energy of my peers pushed me even farther into the international scene of HIV/AIDS, how it affected a country both socially and economically, and how governmental and non-governmental strategies were being used to decrease the transmission of HIV and decrease the number HIV infected people from having full blown AIDS.  Following AIDS in International Perspective, I took International Health in Anthropological Perspective, a class that focused on the broader spectrum of international health, but most importantly examined gaps in both internationally and nationally provided aid.   

In early May of last year, Gaurie Tilak approached a group of sophomores with the idea of AIDS Relief International. We met and discussed the problem of malnutrition and its affects on the efficacy of ART, and hoped that despite our age, we could do something to improve the situation.  There are countless problems worldwide that will take years and the cooperation of millions of people to be solved. I believe, however, that AIDS Relief International has a rare opportunity to have a large affect on children living with HIV/AIDS in Mumbai.