My guest for this episode is Devika Narayanan. Devika is a university student studying Manufacturing Engineering in India. For the past few years, she has been helping build and scale a non-profit organization named Nostos Homes. Nostos builds innovative homes for families that have lost their homes due to climate disasters like floods or cyclones.
Providing safe and secure homes and medical and social infrastructure for families that have been forcibly displaced allows them to rebuild their lives and restore their privacy and personal dignity. This is a cause very close to Devika’s heart. Growing up in Kerala (a state in India), she witnessed severe flooding every monsoon season. Some years, when the floods were particularly ruthless, close relatives and friends had their homes washed away, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
Devika noticed that forcible displacement didn’t just mean losing a home. It also meant that these families lost their jobs and education and often fell ill without access to sanitation or clean water. Devika knew she had to do something to help these families and millions of other such families grappling with the realities of forcible displacement.
This motivated her to join Nostos Homes as its Chief of Staff at its inception to help provide homes to such families across the world. Every day at Nostos, she works towards a world where everyone, even those in the most vulnerable communities, has a safe and secure home.
Devika realized that homes were important, but it wasn’t the end of these families’ worries. She was also moved by healthcare inaccessibility due to either geographical remoteness or financial barriers. This has led her to focus professionally on increasing equitable access to healthcare.
Devika has interned with the Clinton Health Access Initiative to decrease Tuberculosis drug resistance in India and with the corporate strategy team at Cipla. At the latter, she worked on identifying strategic opportunities to combat antimicrobial resistance. She has also worked with Pfizer, where she built pipelines to improve access to critical medicines and vaccines in some key markets.
Here’s what to expect during the episode:
- What organizations or agencies are currently working to provide homes to displaced people worldwide?
- How can individuals and communities get involved in supporting efforts to provide homes to displaced people?
- How does providing homes to displaced people affect their long-term well-being and the surrounding community?
- What are some of the most common natural disasters that result in people losing their homes?
- What impact does losing a home have on children and their families?
Connect with Devika Narayanan!
Website: https://www.nostoshomes.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nostoshomes/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/devika-narayanan-325440186/
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