Edwina Pereira   

Edwina Pereira, currently the co-Director of INSA/India, a Bangalore-based community health and development organization, holds a Masters in Nursing from Delhi University and has worked at INSA/India since 1986. She attended Global Health Action’s six-week International Health Program (IHP) course in 1991 and says that the lessons and skills she (and many of her INSA co-workers) learned at the GHA course are still relevant and important today:

“GHA laid the foundation for me to look at possibilities for reaching vulnerable populations and bridging the chasm between people, communities, governments and organizations to enable sustainable, cost-effective health and development programs. If today INSA/India pioneers and leads new initiatives in accessing basic health care and HIV prevention, the confidence [to do so] came through attending the IHP in 1991. Writing project proposals, designing new thrusts in programming, seeing connections where none obviously exist, is a complex of skills I gained through attending the course. To give you an example, we still use the “domains of communication” taught by Ms. Sylvia Sultenfuss to forgive our past and live in the present looking towards new possibilities. We have grown to understand that what is important is our vision and not [outside] recognition.

And Bruce Wood’s sessions on Situational Leadership are still so clear because we live those principles in our work and life. That model helps me to plan my mentoring, management and evaluations within the organization and out. GHA’s course taught me 3 Cs – Courage to advocate for the poor and vulnerable; Commitment to go through challenges; and Continuity that helps us maintain strong relationships within India and without.

The [IHP course] participants coming from different parts of the world was my first encounter with cultural integration. Today, I am comfortable in diverse environments, from the remote rural environments to the august ambience of the United Nations. Thank you Global Health Action for helping us to live our possibilities, not just for that time, but even 18 years later. Thank you because through you we have and will touch the lives of millions, enabling them to live lives with dignity. We value your relationship even more today.”