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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
- Margaret Mead
In August 2019, I got the opportunity to take part in a college event called 'Teach for a Day', to teach underprivileged children in a nearby village called Zari. It was love at first sight when I was greeted by an overwhelming number of smiles. I spent more than 2 hours teaching students and just talking to them. After that day, it was impossible for me to not go there again, and soon I joined Nirmaan Organization and served as a volunteer for Teach Zari. After a year of volunteering (and some grueling interviews), I was appointed as the Project Lead for this initiative, that has now become very close to my heart.
At Teach Zari, we help children understand the basic concepts of Math for school and scholarships. My role as a Project Lead was to teach, oversee the smooth functioning of the vertical, and implement ideas for its improvement. Over 10 months, I helped design the structure and syllabus, contacted students, and selected and guided new volunteers. We conducted numerous sessions with the recruits to help them understand our process, observe and learn how to teach the children effectively, and to make sure they feel connected to the cause even during the pandemic.
The COVID-19 phase has been challenging, but the team rose to the occasion and showed great commitment. Since everything shifted to the online mode, we brainstormed ideas to revamp the old system. We now teach our students over the phone and through video calls, send regular homework and keep close track of their progress throughout. We also implemented a mentor-mentee system, which really helped me understand the importance of delegation.
Our dedication has brought us excellent results as 3 of our girls in 5th successfully cleared the JNV scholarship exam last year. I was awarded the 'Mantra Social Leadership Award' from my university in recognition of my efforts for this cause. Teach Zari was the start of my social impact journey and gave me a brand new perspective of what's really important in life. It was when I realized that every little thing I do could help someone so much, and that was when I decided that any future work I do should have a societal impact. To this day, I consider the smile on the children's faces as one of the main driving forces of my journey. :)
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