First Day at Saathi

What does one expect to encounter on their first day at a Non-Governmental Organization? For someone who has had absolutely no interaction with the world of activists, of social workers and that of NGOs, the virgin NGO experience can be expected to cause much bewilderment. With the hustle and bustle of purposeful individuals going about their work with determination, the “new guy” cannot expect to be given much import. Saathi turned out to be a little bit of the expected and a lot of the unexpected. The very first thing I learnt in my attempt to get to Saathi was enlightening and does deserve mention - NGOs are no longer charitable organizations. Now that’s something I didn’t know. In the work of an NGO, there are no givers separate from receivers. It is a natural human tendency for an individual, who gives to someone in need, to feel a conscious or subconscious sense of superiority; after all he/she is the one who gives while the other, the needy, receives. However, in Saathi it is well understood that the givers are also receivers, and I am to experience that first hand in the days to come.

One thing that I sought to do ever since I participated in conversations that led to my commitment with Saathi, was to compare the experience of working for an NGO with that of working for a large multi-national corporation. My basis for comparison lay in the fact that I was about to commence working for the former and have had an opportunity to work through 5 months for the latter (in the field of hospitality). What was evident on that very first day was the difference in the basic operational structure of the organizations. Operations in a large corporation were bound by a rigid skeleton i.e. any and every event called for action as per strict protocol laid down by the heads of the organization. This may be attributed to the sheer numbers that these large corporations were dealing with and their profit driven policies. These companies couldn’t risk giving their employees a little leeway to express themselves through their work, for fear that it would lead to non-uniformity in brand standards and eventually cause large scale problems. This notion is considered by some as erroneous as it causes individuals to conform with pre-conceived ideas and hence become just another block in the grand structure of the organization (any one trying to understand what I’m saying here should listen to the song “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds or Pete Seeger - I've embedded the video from youtube) -

I am told that I can expect the Saathi experience to be diametrically opposite to that in a large corporation. And I did see an example of this on my very first day. The surprising fact was that the day I was to arrive at Saathi would also be the day when the organization would take important decisions regarding the course of its future. The decisions that were being taken were indeed of paramount importance. The interesting thing was how the organization was accepting, understanding and educating the opinions of each of its members, taking all factors into consideration and moving forward to make the crucial decisions. This may be because of Saathi’s smaller numbers in terms of staff, but I do hope that in the future even after this NGO expands to wider and greater horizons this part of its character does not change. That is going to be a task of herculean proportions, but worthy of the effort.

I was given to understand that, while in a corporation I would have to mould myself to fit in the organizational framework, in Saathi the organization would mould itself to embrace my qualities and abilities. And thus came about the tasks for my first day - writing. Most of the day required me to take pictures around the Saathi office to convey a variety of messages. Photography, though not really something I claim to be skilled at, was enjoyable. It did involve my meeting many of the project members and coordinators. They were very welcoming of this stranger who was filming them once they were informed that the reasons were quite innocent. My rescuer, in this respect, happened to be Ruth. If I am going to write about the people who work at Saathi, I guess I should start with her. Ruth did a marvelous job of clarifying the doubts of questioning eyes, thereby protecting me from any admonishment. Being the first person that I met at the Saathi office, she created the first and most lasting impression about the organization. She was friendly, welcoming and very considerate, though always quite busy. Since my first day also happened to be an important day of meetings, she told me I wasn’t to get a formal orientation and that my initiation was to be a unique experience as the members didn’t really have the time to put their guard up against me.

When the meeting began, I attempted to film the crucial moments i.e. the discussions that involved the transfer of power. No sooner did all this happen, than an objection was brought up. A well spoken, confident and quite stern lady questioned the purpose of the filming and remained dissatisfied with the response given. Although there was a momentary feeling that I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing, these thoughts soon gave way to a feeling of being disconnected with the essence of the objection raised. The filming was halted from that moment on and only resumed after Roabin arrived. It was at this point that I met Brijesh. Roabin asked both me and Ruth to advise him on how he could announce to the rest of the Saathi group that he would like to take Saathi forward into the political arena and convince them all that this was indeed a good idea. Suddenly being asked to handle something like this without any prior intimation was like being asked to dive off the deep end or like being left to flail in the sea. Ruth, being more accustomed to such methods handled the situation better and told me it would take a little getting used to. The crux of the meeting was that Roabin, recently appointed CEO of Saathi, desired to be relieved of the post and to appoint someone else in that position. Initially the age-old debate about power in the hands of a group and power in the hands of an individual was carried out. Thereafter a new CEO, viz. Valerie, was chosen and a process involving gradual succession was discussed.

At the end of the day, many of the questions I had hoped to ask remain half-answered. But then again, this journey has just started. It is only by going forward that I can truly understand the dynamics of an NGO like Saathi and the people who work in it. One thing I feel I can expect - that’s serendipity.