College was the space that gave me my first experience of working with a non-profit organisation and leading a team. This opportunity appeared when I most needed it. I was struggling to find my place in college and I was overwhelmed with academic stress most of the time. Despite that, I applied for NSS and worked with a teaching NGO called Hope in my first year (2014). It turned out to be quite a magical experience for me.
In 2015, as I wanted to continue with the NGO work, I applied for and was made the project head of the Hope NGO. Starting my life as a project head was a relatively new chapter and I had a lot of fascinating new activities planned for my classrooms. My responsibilities included having to supervise and inspire 30 volunteers associated with Hope, working to mould them into citizens who would work towards impacting the society in creative ways and inculcating in them patience and a sense of responsibility while teaching young students at the NGO.
As the year advanced, we experienced a sudden surge in the number of events. It became difficult to keep the energy of the team high. Our main challenge was to constantly ensure that our unenthusiastic volunteers remained active and interested. The main defaulters were two students . It was tricky to maintain their interest in teaching and prevent them from being dormant, especially since they were proving to be a major setback the NGO's projects and the students. My co-project head and I decided to confront them and ask them the reason for their irresponsibility. They explained their reason for their inactivity was their disinterest in teaching and a cumbersome college schedule outweighed their desire to contribute productively to society.
We understood their problem and tried to find a solution without discouraging them from working.
Since these two students were creative people and excellent with art and craft, I proposed a strategy which would compensate for their teaching time at the NGO by helping with inter-college activities. They were soon contributing ideas for events at the NGO and making posters raising awareness about NSS. Their increased interest also energised them and they remained active for the rest of the year.
I find a certain sense of pride in having been able to identify the problem and in reworking a strategy which achieved the objective of NSS without compromising the interest of the volunteers. Rather than pestering them perform their NGO duties (which would have led to disinterest and irritation between both parties), I played with their strengths which made them productive and interested volunteers. They found their place in being impactful citizens which they previously couldn’t and I increased the productivity output of the NGO in a way that satisfied the authorities and my team. This has helped me become a better team leader in SCMHRD as well