Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power’, it’s what empowers people to achieve great results. Education has the power to help people realise their true potential and contribute towards building successful communities. ProEngage, through its mentoring projects, works with young people, community gatekeepers and non-profit partners to make this possible. Mentoring is a huge responsibility but it’s a sure way of impacting the lives of tomorrow’s youth.
Be a mentor, help them grow!
The Tata group partners with non-profits all over India, that help youth from low-resource settings find opportunities to pursue education and empowers them to grow. Mentoring is an important part of the growth of young people who can always rely on the mentor for their guidance. The mentors are tasked with supporting the youth; helping them become confident individuals, and guiding them to achieve their goals. Let’s hear from some of the successful projects on mentoring from past ProEngagers.
Hear it from our ProEngagers
Sandeep Agarwal has been working with Tata Interactive Systems for the past 18 years. He has been a part of Pro Engage for the last three years and this time around he chose a different challenge: project to mentor a young boy, Pranay Lakhan, from the non-profit Antarang Foundation. Pranay had the ambition to become a chef. However, he lacked the guidance and financial aid to achieve his goal. Sandeep tasked himself to find a worthy trainee to teach and guide Pranay, who now works as a chef. Sandeep is proud of the opportunity he got to make a difference to a young person’s life through ProEngage.
Sandeep recounts his experience as a mentor
Asmita Desai who looks after learning and development skills at the Indian Hotels, has been associated with ProEngage for the past two years and in 2017 she took up a mentoring project. She was paired with a young girl, Kajal, who needed guidance and confidence building. Asmita managed to build a relationship as a friend and as a motherly figure to talk about things Kajal didn’t feel comfortable talking about otherwise. During this project, she invited Kajal to her office for activities held for employees, like workshops on health, women’s day celebrations, among others, which boosted her confidence and also helped her socialize with people and feel comfortable in her own skin.
Asmita talks about her mentee
Gayatri Yadav, an employee of Indian Hotels , has been volunteering for over a year with Pro-Engage. She mentors youth to become more confident and find a successful career path. As a part of Udyaan Shalini’s Scholarship programme, she got the chance to mentor Reshma, who was a first generation learner from her family. Gayatri recalls how her role constantly switched between a teacher, friend and confidante. Being able to help and support young girls as they transform into women of substance has been a fulfilling experience for Gayatri.
Gayatri enjoys spending time with her mentee