Ankit Singhania, Tata Steel
Volunteerism and community change is not just an opportunity but a priority for me – as such. The subject of “volunteerism” has been central to my life ever since my college days. Although I have volunteered for NGOs in the past, ProEngage caught my attention almost immediately as it was the first time that I got an opportunity to work on a skill-based volunteering program. It provided me a unique platform to work upon, which, not only helped me add value to the society but also honed my skills and expertise in a new area.
I was selected in the ProEngage edition 3 to work upon a project titled “Increasing sales of Okhai products in Jamshedpur”. Okhai is a women empowerment initiative by Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development. As an operation guy, I had no direct exposure to marketing and sales. Thus, I was excited to commence the project as it led me to an uncharted territory, and, the results were not disappointing. I not only gained an insight into the concepts of Marketing & Sales but also learned about the various forces working in India to serve the common purpose of women empowerment. But the most significant learning I had is how one of the biggest equalizers of our society is storytelling and the sharing of self with others in hopes of them discovering unlimited agency for themselves. The ‘Okhai story’ has been doing this perfectly for many years. I learnt that people are not powerless; in fact, we have a great deal of power and potential through which we can improve our lives, the lives of others, and the dilemmas and misfortunes our world faces every day.
Personally, I picked up many friends in Tata Sustainability Group, Okhai and Tata Motors which I am going to preserve and cherish my entire life.
Six months on, I can say confidently that working on a “ProEngage” project was one of the best volunteering experiences for me. Thus, quite naturally, I signed up for the ProEngage edition 4 besides motivating two more of my colleagues to engage in the same. I strongly recommend everyone to join aboard this train of “Radical Happiness”.