Non-governmental Organisation (NGO) July 2020

Interview with our respected Mentors, Ms. Kamala Subramaniam, Ms. Selvi Kandasamy and Ms. Sunayana Reddy. Ms. Kamala Subramaniam, Mentor As a Volunteer of Project Puthri, kindly... 1. Share your Exciting / Fun / Heart-touching moment in your volunteering journey. I am involved in many volunteering activities in my earlier stage of life. But being a mentor to Project Puthris has been the most satisfying and meaningful volunteering opportunity amongst all. The impact that I am able to create in the lives of each Puthri as a mentor is the reason behind it. The following are a few experiences that I had: Girls who were shy to even tell their names are now oozing with confidence and boldness. Every Puthri can now speak on stage without any fear. 'After my 'role model' session few girls came to me and asked whether it was possible for them too to become like me in future. This made me realise the responsibility that I had towards the society, where children perceived me as their role model. In addition, Puthri mentoring sessions are great stress busters. I look forward to meeting my Puthris, where I not only mentor them but learn and create sweet moments. 2. What's the one thing that made you want to be a Volunteer? One fine day I got a message from Project Puthri regarding volunteering opportunity for underprivileged girls. I had no clue about it when I was invited to attend the orientation and briefing session. Once Mr. Eswar explained the vision and mission of Project Puthri, I was instantly able to relate myself to it as it made me realise that if I had such a mentor at my school age, who could have guided me in my career, life would have been different and better. This triggered me to be part of Project Puthri, I decided to be one such mentor in Project Puthri to bring about difference in life of other underprivileged girls. I am now, not only a proud mentor, but also a role model and a content developer in Project Puthri. 3. Who inspires and keeps your volunteering momentum going on? The love and support given by my Puthris and the positive changes brought in by them through this mentoring activity, has inspired me and keeps the momentum for the volunteering activity rolling. I have also been inspired by few Puthris, who have achieved against all odds in their life at a young age. The content (Skills) delivered to Puthris also plays a major role, it is elaborate -- yet simple, essential and the need of the hour for girls to tap the employment opportunities, in this highly competitive world. 4. Mention few key takeaways from this volunteering experience There is so much to share about takeaways of this volunteering experience, prominent one are as follows: Anyone can become a mentor in Project Puthri if you have the will. I was amazed to see many amateur mentors doing wonderful jobs at par with experienced soft skills trainers. 'No matter who you are, where you are and what you have achieved, you can always create an impact on other people's lives, if your objectives are right in mentoring'. A great opportunity to fine tune one's own soft skills while mentoring the Puthris. 5. As a Volunteer, how do you plan and prioritize your time? Your motivational mantra for someone who would like to volunteer? As I said earlier 'where there is a will there's a way'. However busy we are, time has ofund its due place when something is our priority. The same formula applies here. I'm an entrepreneur, a mother of two sons, a pet, and a homemaker too. I am the single breadwinner of the family. I find time because I want to do it. It's simple. Ms. Selvi Kandasamy, Mentor As a Volunteer of Project Puthri, kindly... 1. Share your Exciting / Fun / Heart-touching moment in your volunteering journey? I conducted an activity for Time Management module and it turned out to be full of fun. It was Children's day and I wanted to give toffees or chocolates to the students. Instead of filling the cup with stones, pebbles and sand I bought toffees in different sizes and made each one fill the cup and I explained the concept of time management through prioritisation and planning. Later I distributed all the toffees to the students. 2. What's the one thing that made you to be a Volunteer? I was thankful for the blessings in my life and felt the responsibility of giving back my time and the knowledge that I had gained to the girls who are the future of our country. 3. Who inspires and keeps your volunteering momentum going on? My passion to motivate others to know their life's purpose and build confidence has kept me moving as a volunteer so far. Also I have always wanted to visit Government schools and volunteer for the girl students. 4. Mention few key takeaways from this volunteering experience I felt more powerful than ever when the students started looking at me as their mentor. I am learning more to update myself. 5. As a Volunteer, how do you plan and prioritize your time? Your motivational mantra for someone who would like to volunteer? Since I am a freelancer, it's easy for me to segment my time and allocate sufficient amount of time for mentoring. My motivational Mantra is: 'Being empathetic and sharing your time and experience to make a difference in the life of the girls will make you happy and feel blessed. Ms. Sunayana Reddy, Mentor & PCCA Career Coach As a Volunteer of Project Puthri, kindly 1. Share your Exciting / Fun / Heart-touching moment in your volunteering journey. Every Puthri session is a new learning and always brings joy to me. The girls have the ability to brighten you up no matter what. Sometimes it is the compliments they give and sometimes the value that they add to the sessions. This one time, Puthri team was able to organise a film screening of the Tamil film Kanaa (Dream). I had the opportunity to watch it along with the girls. For most of them it was the first time seeing a cinema theatre screen and I was surprised to know that living in a metropolitan city many of them haven't been privileged enough to use the urban facilities it has to offer. Totally an eye-opener moment. Also, at the theatre few girls got to talk about their life ambitions which definitely moved all of us. 2. What's the one thing that made you to be a Volunteer? I am addicted to be a catalyst for change. This made me volunteer with more than 20 NGOs within 2 years. Also, I am proud to say I am a Puthri Mentor for the past two years and that's my longest volunteering streak. I deeply believe in empowering girls to be self-sustainable and that's what made me be a long term volunteer with Project Puthri. 3. Who inspires and keeps your volunteering momentum going on? I began my first volunteering journey during my college days and it was mostly to earn social service credits to fulfill my undergraduate degree requirement. But the real inspiration and drive to volunteer happened much later when I had the privilege to interact with a transwoman HR professional during a talk where Puthri mentors were invited to attend. As most of us know, living as a transgender can be taunting but she found her solace in volunteering. Her volunteering stories propelled me to volunteer every weekend and in return I gained so much learning, connections and my own solace too. 4. Mention few key takeaways from this volunteering experience My key takeaways from volunteering experience are resilience, cohesiveness and agility. 5. As a Volunteer, how do you plan and prioritize your time? Your motivational mantra for someone who would like to volunteer? I prioritize my weekends for volunteering as I work fulltime on weekdays. Most of the time I check the agenda and make a checklist of things required for the volunteering activity. During my Puthri mentoring sessions, I came to understand the importance of using a Timer as a better time management tool. It really trained the students to be mindful on making the most out of the time provided for the session. My motivational mantra for you is, whenever you volunteer always remember why you wanted to be part of the cause. This will help you not to give up on it. Also a word of caution: Only volunteer for the causes that you deeply believe in and afford to volunteer for. Self-care before selfless care.

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Reach to partner with us: Project Puthri     projectputhri    projectputhri Email: info@puthri.org / eswarbala@puthri.org Website: www.puthri.org Avtar Human Capital Trust, "Udyog Gruhaa", No. 10, East Coast Road, Raja Nagar, Neelankarai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600041