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
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