Bridging Privilege and Purpose
Growing up in New Delhi, India, Umang Kamra ’22 recognized his privileged upbringing afforded him opportunities not available to everyone and kept him sheltered from some of the hardships faced by others in his country.
“I often felt that I occupied a privileged position in India,” says Kamra. “Because of my positionality, I was far removed from the extreme hardships and struggles faced by most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. With a lack of such lived experience, it is easy to remain within a bubble, while ignoring or failing to adequately acknowledge one’s privilege and how it perpetuates social inequity.”
For Kamra, however, the awareness of his position and privilege instilled within him a deep sense of responsibility to understand the struggles faced by marginalized communities and to work for systemic change to foster a better and more equitable society. And as a student at Grinnell, he found an academic environment that supported his beliefs and provided opportunities to develop his skills and interests and put them to work.
Turning Knowledge Into Action
“Grinnell gave me the flexibility to design courses specific to my interests,” says Kamra, who graduated with a degree in history with a policy studies minor. “For example, I spent 2021 investigating the tribal history of India which was crucial in shaping my research and writing skills (and for which he was awarded the Frederick Baumann Essay Prize); my part-time work experience as a Service and Social Innovation Intern gave me a landscape understanding of the social sector; and being a member of the Rosenfield Program Committee and participating in Map the System were crucial in exposing me to the interconnected web of social, political and environmental systems.”
These myriad opportunities paved the way for Kamra to enter a career with Indus Action, a non-governmental organization based in New Delhi which bills itself as “A do-tank, not just a think-tank.” The organization strives to bridge the gap between policy and action by easing welfare access to vulnerable citizens, and provide vulnerable families with sustainable access to their legislated rights.
As the senior manager in the office of the CEO, Kamra works directly with senior leadership on organizational development and monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning. Earlier this year, he published a whitepaper diagnosing key obstacles in policy implementation for the Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board (BoCW) Act and provided recommendations to streamline the implementation process. Since its founding in 2013, Indus Action has helped more than 1.23 million Indian citizens secure $143 million in education, health, and livelihood benefits.
“Through my work, I aim to understand and learn the true extent of struggles faced by disadvantaged groups and I hope to support vulnerable communities in becoming more resilient through systems change interventions,” says Kamra. “Our goal is to lift 3.5% of ultra-poor families out of poverty by 2030 by helping 50 million citizens access at least one significant entitlement.”
Kamra plans to pursue a graduate degree in public policy focusing on the intersection of climate change and livelihoods and continue to work to address current systemic gaps while keeping vulnerable citizens at the center of his efforts.
“I hope to uncover and promote impact pathways that accurately factor vulnerability through an intersectional lens,” he says. “There is a lack of a framework that considers increasing climate risks and consequent livelihood challenges. I aim to carve a unique position for myself to work at this intersection in the coming years, and I plan to continue working in the development sector to support vulnerable communities in becoming more resilient through systems change interventions.”