By Dr. Meenakshi Nayar, FPM 1980
Caption: Meenakshi interacting with the Draftsman Mechanical Trade students of ITI trained by ETASHA under Project Anvit
I quit my corporate job at the age of 50, to get started on my dream of doing more socially useful work which I could also continue to do post “retirement.” I knew that I wanted to work with adolescents and young people, so I started a partnership firm with Freda Joseph Swaminathan, a batch-mate, to provide Career Guidance and Sexuality Awareness to adolescents in schools in our neighbourhood.
The most momentous change in my life happened while conducting a Career Guidance Workshop on invitation from an NGO working with high school children in a slum. The experience left me feeling very inadequate because I could not suggest many good options for short-duration training/ education for careers that these bright young people with limited resources could aspire for.
Having never stepped into a slum and being curious about it, I decided to walk through the community. What I saw left me in a state of shock. Sensory shock aside, what struck me most was the large number of men and boys playing cards or cricket or just lounging around. I wondered why they were not working or studying or training on a weekday afternoon?
The feelings of inadequacy, confusion and shock slowly gave way to determination to do something to help change their lives. The Eureka moment arrived soon after – with my experience of recruiting hundreds of people as an HR professional, the right thing for me to do was to train and prepare these youth for success in the organised sector. Training and skill development in employability and vocational skills for the emerging service sector in Delhi was the logical mission. That’s how ETASHA began. It is a not-for-profit organization that skills low-income communities for employment & income generation. From one centre in Delhi in 2006 and impacting 100 youth we now have 20 Centres in Delhi and Haryana and have directly impacted over 3,00,000 people through our interventions.
Early challenges
Caption: Meenakshi interacting with the Vocational Training Students at the center in Mangolpuri, Delhi
Apart from fundraising, the single biggest challenge has related to enrolling girls for job-related training. While girls lived with confusion, self-doubt, and anticipation of refusal by the father, objections from parents ranged from “girls don’t work in our family” to “it is unsafe for them” to “it will be difficult to get them married.” Convincing their families involved counseling parents, grandmothers, elder or even younger brothers, aunts, uncles, or any other person involved in the family’s decision making. This has required a lot of effort and persistent engagement and encouragement of the families.
In the early years, I had no clue about fundraising and funded ETASHA from my personal account until it became unsustainable, prompting me to seek support from friends and family. Realising the need for sustainable sources, I focused on Foundations and was fortunate to secure a generous two-year grant from Tech Mahindra Foundation, which helped establish ETASHA.
Evolution over the years
As we worked with the youth in many low- income communities in our Career Development Centres and with trainees in Government ITIs, and engaged with their families, we realised that we were actually working to change the mind-set of people who had been stuck at the low end of the economic spectrum for many generations.
On realising that mind-set change was the impact we were seeking, it seemed logical to work with adolescents whose thought processes and aspirations could be moulded easily. We launched the Adolescent Wellbeing and Success (AWS) vertical, providing scholastic improvement, life skills, confidence building, computer training, career guidance, scholarships, and essential infrastructure like toilets and computer centers.
Recognizing the influence of mothers and older women, we also started the Women Entrepreneurship Program to support skill development and income generation. This evolved into the Entrepreneurship Education and Development (EED) vertical, catering to adolescents, youth, and mature women, promoting entrepreneurial thinking and establishing nano enterprises.
The priorities of the organization have evolved over time. Initially, we focused on understanding the needs of beneficiaries and recruiters, developing curricula, and creating mobilization strategies. In subsequent years, we worked on building a sustainable organization by securing necessary government approvals, including FCRA, building a website, enhancing communications, registering on charity platforms, like Give India and GuideStar India gaining accreditations, and ensuring compliance with regulatory and governance processes.
Fundraising has always been a priority, with current efforts aimed at securing long-term support for sustainable impact. Recruiting and capacity building of team members, along with reviewing SOPs, have remained ongoing priorities. Recently, I have also focused on developing a second line of management and establishing collective decision-making processes within the top management team.
Our support
ETASHA has evolved and grown with support from many individual donors as well as Corporates in the form of donations/ grants, CSR funds, Employee Giving or Matching Gift Programs, Volunteering time and expertise for training, mobilising, supporting our fundraising events, and spreading the word about our mission and impact. Our Governing Council members who have shared belief in and commitment to our mission, have provided invaluable guidance and support throughout our journey.
Every bit of support, big and small, has helped us continue our work for close to two decades and reach more people in need. Over the next 5 years we plan to scale up operations by expanding geographically. We are seeking more and long-term support to continue to impact those in need.
Our motivation
At the start of the journey, the motivation came from the vision and the corresponding challenge. On seeing the positive impact on individuals and communities very soon this grew into a passion. As I witnessed the transformation of a young girl who cried in the first session when asked to introduce herself into a confident young lady who got selected after her first interview in a large company, my passion grew into a 24×7 engagement with ETASHA.
The thrill of seeing stars in the eyes of every young boy and girl who has got his/her first appointment letter, or of seeing school children in a remote village coming running to attend our classes, or, of seeing the sense of pride and self-confidence of a 45-year-old-semi-literate woman talking about her journey from total dependence on her husband to having her own money and becoming a significant contributor to the family’s finances are all the motivation needed to keep me and my wonderful team going on.
The move from the corporate world to grassroots engagement has been incredibly rewarding, showing how purposeful action can bring about meaningful change. The parallel move from earning a large corporate salary every month to being fully dependent on personal savings has been an interesting journey where my concept of money and its value has completely changed.
My advice to IIMA community
I can very honestly recommend the development sector as a very good option for a mid-life change of career to all alumni who have had the benefit of unparalleled education and have added amazing expertise and experience enabling them to handle challenges and bring about changes in the world. Take the plunge and take on any cause you feel passionately about to get an invaluable sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.
To development sector professionals, I would start with saying that be aware that grit, resilience and a mind-set of continuous learning will be needed to navigate the numerous challenges getting thrown at you. Your best assets will be robust processes, compassion, empathy and a culture of involvement, cooperation and striving together for excellence.
Please visit www.etashasociety.org for more information and reach out to Meenakshi at meenakshi@etashasociety.org
Meenakshi Nayar is Founder President of ETASHA Society where she oversees operations as a full-time volunteer. ETASHA and Meenakshi have received several awards for this work including recognition by Niti Aayog & UNDP among 12 “Women Transforming India” in 2016. Meenakshi is an Independent and Non-Executive Director on the Board of DCM Novelle Limited, where she is currently the Chairperson. She is also the Founder of EduServe Consultants, which works with Adolescents.
