Many a times we look at a child and feel that he or she possesses potential, capabilities, perhaps we feel that the child has a spark. However, the thought is often discharged by us because we believe that there is not much that we can do.
Today, I want to tell you how much of a big difference small things can make. There is one particular incident that made me acknowledge the impact of small actions. It helped me realize that my destiny was in fact being a social activist.
I was at a Municipal School and was just about to meet the principal regarding some work. A man, entered with his 7-year-old daughter for admission. The Principal himself took her interview and test and concluded that this girl could be admitted in either Hindi or English medium. On checking the amount of fees, the father realized the difference of $50 per quarter between both the mediums. For that amount, which we believe to be very small, that girl was about to be put into Hindi medium. That was when, I realized how a small difference can so delicately have an enormous impact on your future.
That incident shaped me into believing that the spark that I notice in children shouldn’t go unnoticed. Something needed to be done, no matter how small for we can never tell the importance that it can hold. That’s when I started something that I believed would make a difference to lives – ‘Train for India’ and ‘Unnati’ were born.
According to World Economic Forum, Cross Functional skills (or as we call it – Life Skills) are one of the most important skills that will be required for a wide variety of jobs. Their report highlights need for social skills – such as persuasion, emotional intelligence, etc. These skills are predicted to have higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills. This all led to the building of “Train for India”, a campaign in which professionals all over world spend few hours helping underprivileged children with soft skills.
The world today, is changing at a faster pace than ever. More than 80% Of top management in Advanced economies have more humanitarian skills than the technical ones. Today, we’re seeing the rise of new work models such as freelancing and remote work. In the most advanced companies, teams are learning to be more agile, to work with distributed teams, and to scale up or down to adapt to ever-changing conditions. This is the future of work.
We feel the problem is so big that every stakeholder needs to participate which means every person in this country who can do their bit, should do it. No organization or person has an absolute solution. Having said that, we’re pushing to do what we understand from a Macro and Micro perspective.
Train for India is aimed at providing soft skills intervention sessions to underprivileged children across the country. Education hasn’t kept pace with the moving times. We still send our children through a fixed set of primary and secondary education steps, and now a college degree for acquiring the best jobs. The model doesn’t actually prepare any child for a real world. Considering the importance of these ‘soft skills, it is rather necessary to call them ‘People’ or ‘Human’ skills.
“Unnati”, a campaign that started, for building high intensity soft skills in women who had great potential but were under-served. This proved to completely transform their personalities and helped them advance in their respective careers.
Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social initiators act as the catalyst for the society. With my initiatives, I will definitely try to make a difference to our society no matter how big or small.
The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires…
———- William Aurthur Ward
