"It would be an honor to care for such strong individuals and communities as I move forward in my medical career."
That's how 27-year-old Rutgers EMT Deena Korenblit describes a recent trip she and nine other Orthodox Union members took to Mumbai, India, as part of a relief mission for the group's Israel-based nonprofit, Gabriel Project Mumbai.
While there, the group stayed in an Israeli-run guest house, worked in a field hospital with an air purification system, and spent three days in a tribal village where children were taught proper hygiene and basic math and science.
"The extent of the poverty in villages is beyond what most Americans can truly grasp," says Korenblit.
"Over the average income is about $250 a year, a home consists of a mud hut or tent, beds are simply mats on the ground, and women walk and scrape from the well to get their families water."
The trip was the OU's first to India, and the group worked with GPM, an Israel-based nonprofit founded by Israeli social entrepreneur Jacob Sztokman that works with rural communities and provides educational, health, and nutritional resources to empower them to break the cycle of poverty.
GPM also works with Mumbai's Jewish communities,
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