At the Beginning

My name is Carrie Yarina, and I am a 3^rd year chemical engineering student at the University of Michigan. The reason I chose engineering as my major is because I see it as an opportunity to make substantial, tangible changes in the world for the better.

Freshman year I started my journey toward creating a non-profit that provides affordable, sustainable diagnostic equipment to people in rural India. I believe that everyone, no matter where they are born has a right to local access to healthcare; however in rural India is not a right- it is a luxury. With a tool that my team and I designed freshman year we plan to take diagnostic capability out of the clinic and directly to the people who need it the most: in rural villages where there is no electricity and the nearest clinic is over 15 km away. I am currently the CEO and co-founder of this non-profit, called CentriCycle. (see more at centricycle.com)

This project is what brought me to the Summer in South Asia Fellowship. The further I go and the more I learn while working on CentriCycle, the more I realize I do not know, and the more I want to learn. I was recommended this fellowship by a friend who had gone through this experience, and I saw it as a means to fill in some of my knowledge gaps.

The research project I decided to work in is on how companies design and market to the base of the pyramid (people who live on less than $2/day).  This is an emerging sphere in the non-profit/social venture world. All over the world, people are trying to develop sustainable businesses or non-profits that can reach this market and make enough money to be self-sustainable, with mixed results. The area that I am most interested in, which is the medical sphere, is even more complicated due to the regulatory and high up-front costs and time that must be invested. It’s an exciting time to be in this market, but also a scary one.

That is why I decided to volunteer at Embrace this summer. They are an organization that makes low-cost infant warmers designed to save the lives of low birth-weight babies by keeping them warm so that they can use their energy to develop and stay alive, rather than just staying warm. They are an interesting company, because they recently created a branch that is for-profit, and that is where I am volunteering at. I’m working on and being involved in every step of the design process, from prototyping to clinical trials, and hopefully, the the launch of this product. What better way to learn about the process, than to learn from the company that has become the poster child of medical device design for the base of the pyramid? Now, I’m not saying they have it figured out- they also have a long way to go, but hopefully, by learning from one of the companies that is doing this the best, I will be better equipped to take the leap with CentriCycle and launch our own successful social venture. 

 

 I'm at the beginning of my adventure and I'm excited to see how it will turn out! I just finished my first week in India I've been staying with a friend of a friend until I get my apartment finalized. It's already been a great experience and a bit of a culture shock (but in a good way).  Bangalore is hectic and crazy and frantic all of the time. I'll let you know more once I get everything settled in my new apartment!