The teachers who are learning a lot

Teach India’s volunteers feel rewarded when they see the difference they have made to their students’ lives

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

‘He who can, does. He who can’t, teaches,’’ is a saying often used to dismiss those in the teaching profession. Yet Teach India initiative proves that even author George Bernard Shaw could be wrong sometimes. Among the illustrious list of people who volunteer their time for teaching in the programme are corporate executives, homemakers and entrepreneurs who have never taught before.

Like Gurugram-based Pooja Widhani who works in a garment-buying house and has more than 20 years of experience working with international brands. “I had held meetings, travelled the world but never taught. My son said ‘Mom give it a shot’, and I did,’’ she recalls. That was 2014. From training a batch of 20 students Pooja has moved on to training and mentoring teachers for the Gurgaon and south Delhi region.

Despite long years in the corporate sector, the fact that 20 lives were in her hands was a responsibility that made her nervous. The turning point came when 80% got a job. One student touched her feet and said that she had changed his life. “That changed my life. It motivated me so much and has made me feel better about myself than all those fancy jobs I have held over the years.’’ The Teach India campaign this year is in partnership with the American Express and will impact the lives of 1,400 learners who will be given training in communication and English to improve their employability.

Launched in 2010, the programme has had significant success. It has so far trained 80,000 learners over the last eight years. Of these, 52,800 learners have secured jobs. The programme aims to reach 100,000 learners by 2020.

This has been due to the earnestness of people like Pooja Widhani and Pradeep Jain. Jain, 58, spent more than three decades working in operations as a senior VP. After a hectic career, he was looking for a change. “I started working with Teach India in 2014. My thinking has changed a lot since then. I started working with an NGO for differently abled children near Bhikaji Cama Place, as well as an NGO in Mehrauli in a Muslim-dominated area,” he says. He hadn’t seen that kind of poverty before. “You read about it, but it’s a completely different experience to see the reality of it.”

He convinced his wife Jyotsna to join Teach India as well. “My husband would tell me how much he enjoys it, and how content he feels doing this work. I was inspired by him and decided to become a part of it,” says the 63-year-old homemaker-turned- teacher. “Recently, I’ve been working with a Gurugram-based NGO that teaches women who are homemakers. The experience has changed my life.’’ Pradeep Jain adds, “Seeing the willingness of these children to learn and make something of themselves against all odds has been an inspiration.”

More recent volunteers include Gurugram-based designer Aakriti Verma, who joined Teach India in 2016, soon after completing her graduation in apparel export in the UK. “I had just set up my brand and was struggling to establish it,” says Verma, 26. “It was busy but I thought the starting point of my career was the right time to volunteer and it could help me bring a fresh energy to what I did.”

Since then, Verma has worked with NGO Sahyog, Gurugram Traffic Police and Indian Army jawans’ wives. She says the sessions have also helped her become more confident in her professional life. “I have to talk to a lot of people as part of my work, and when you talk to so many people on stage, you become fearless,” says Verma.

She also forged a personal bond with students, and says the programme offered her an opportunity to interact with people she would’ve otherwise never met. “For example, we don’t really interact with the police,” she says. She continues to be in touch with many of her students, such as a Gurugram policeman who tells her how learning spoken English has helped him figure out when people are making fun of him. “Many still call to wish me on my birthday. Even if I’ve made a small difference to someone, it’s been worth it,” she says.

LEARNING CURVE: Volunteers from diverse backgrounds ranging from corporate executives to homemakers are part of the Teach India initiative

Source: The Times of India dated 13 March, 2019