Field notes
Meeting with the Higher Education Minister’s Private Secretary
What we saw
From the Druk Help team, Thinley, Sonam and Rinzin,along with our mentor Varun went to visit Mr Sreekumar.The Pelsung ED accompanied the team, representing the Pelsung organization. He began by briefly introducing Pelsung and its current programs. Then our mentor, Varun shared the vision and mission of Druk Help. The discussion mainly focused on potential areas of collaboration, including exchange programs where the team could learn from Kerala’s healthcare system , learning system and other initiatives.
Personal reflection
Why did we come for the meeting? We went into this meeting with a simple purpose: to introduce Druk Help properly, and to find out whether there was room to build something together. We were still early in our journey, and we wanted to hear from people who had walked a longer road in community healthcare. Kerala’s model of care was very much on our minds, so we hoped to learn from it and find ways to connect.
What happened? From there the conversation opened up, and most of our time went to where we might collaborate. Exchange programs came up first, especially the chance for our team to learn directly from Kerala’s healthcare system and its community initiatives. This led to the most concrete idea of the day, a Kerala visit for the Druk Help team, planned for January. Being able to see that work firsthand, instead of only reading about it or watching it on a dashboard, would mean a great deal to us. We also talked about a sports exchange program. It was a more unexpected topic, but it made sense as we discussed it. We looked at the link between sports and health, and how staying active supports wellbeing and could fit into the larger picture of preventive and community care.
What’s next? We were eager to see how these plans would move forward and what opportunities might open up along the way. The Kerala visit, the exchange programs and the sports and health idea each felt like another door opened. Nothing was finalized, and there were no signed papers or fixed dates, only conversations of good intentions.Discussing these opportunities and connecting with more people who share our vision gave us a deep sense of fulfillment.