My journey with Pratham started in May of 2012, and although it has been some time now, Pratham still makes every day feel anew. Pratham was my first job out of university, so I was eager to absorb as well as apply my psychology degree in the real world.
Over time, Pratham has gifted me with the opportunity to work in various capacities. I started in the People Development Unit, where I contributed to the creation of capacity building programs for people within Pratham. Most importantly, this first position taught be that training can be a ‘tool for change’. As I gained experience, I began creating content and training people in conducting Life Skills sessions for adolescents, youth and adults. This profile gave me a chance to develop content for children on various soft skills and also work with many, many teachers across the organization.
With the learnings from the aforementioned experiences, I was provided a platform to lead a girls’ education program working with Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalays (KGBVs). KGBVs are residential schools established for girls for girls in Upper primary grades in economically and socially backward blocks of the country. Pratham’s partnership with KGBVs is in three states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Working in these three geographies gives me immense satisfaction and a constant thirst to learn and then concretize my learning. Be it seeing the KGBV girls speak confidently about a Science experiment they learnt, hearing the stories of friendship and collaboration with teachers and wardens or watching the way my own team of 50 women is evolving in the process — everything has been extremely fulfilling.
One of the best things that Pratham helped me understand is how to nurture people. Looking at how my seniors have been with me and how they provided me with a safe space to grow, I learned about the impact that strong, consistent mentorship can have. Pratham works in the field of education, and even internally I’ve been amazed at how much personal and professional growth is possible here. The people in this organization are exceptional at facilitating change, both externally and within. I believe these experiences of warmth and guidance have been instrumental in translating the same in my own work.
In my journey of about six years now, Pratham blessed me with three values: trust, passion and resilience. I see these in people at all levels of Pratham, from the central team where I work to the state teams and instructors across the country. Pratham trusts its people, the energy within the organization is contagious and whenever we have a set-back, we bounce back with energy!
All in all, the Pratham experience is a magical one: there is magic in the work we do, the way we do it, the places Pratham takes us and the contentment at the end of the day!
– Sukhada
