Dear Valerie,
I’d like start by once again thanking you for the patience with which you have been communicating with me. It is more than I should or could have ever hoped for. There are certain issues I would like to put out in the open as I compose this letter. Saying things in a subtle manner is not something I can do easily and so I’m going to make my points obvious. I’m probably preaching to the choir when I say to someone in the NGO field that change is a wonderful and necessary thing. However, it does create vast amounts of discomfort (as the world can see in the USA over the healthcare issue or as I have seen, here in Pune, while dealing with Nanda ma’am and Nilesh). This doesn’t change the fact that all entities, both individuals and organizations, need to be continually evolving to avoid stagnation. I am sure you do not disagree. With respect to that, I would like to ask you, do you think that rules of a universal nature are of any good? I was of the opinion that rules should be flexible as per the demands of a situation. In other words rigidity can be quite restrictive to good results. For example I am told that my connecting with Nanda ma’am and Nilesh would never have happened so early on in an internship process had I started interning with Saathi right from the beginning (due to certain rules & policies). At first, discussions would have taken place and who knows what conclusions would have been arrived at. Yet here I am right now, with a truly amazing connection with this lady (and her mother and son) and no harm has come of it. In fact I feel the results are somewhat the opposite. I cannot say that it has been an all out success. My initial aims of teaching Nilesh are still a work in progress as he continues to show resistance. However it is in no way a failure. If you were to ask Nanda ma’am herself what she feels about this connection I think she is wont to say that she is happy about it (although she did show some resistance to change in the beginning). As such, I feel rules that have been created from lessons learnt in the past, should be flexible as per the varying intricacies of each new situation. If you agree with this, then do you not feel that rigid rules, that most organization subject themselves to, need to be modified?
I was both surprised and pleased to see your latest email***. However, the overriding emotion here was and still is one of absolute terror (a weird collection of emotions to have simultaneously). A feeling probably caused (just a guess) due to the sudden nature of your email and the prior use of words like “highly competitive and selective program”. I have absolutely no idea as to who I will be meeting and what will be expected of me. Therefore, I do not feel like I am on steady ground. I am thankful to Roabin for his constant encouragement without which I probably would have run away from this entire situation (considering the aforementioned fear and the time it took to get connected with Saathi). With regard to your latest email, I was wondering if you could tell me who the Intern & Volunteer Coordination Team comprises of and what is expected to happen at this meeting. That would be of great help.
My brother, who I get to see very rarely (about 10 days in a year), has come home for a brief period this week. Therefore, Roabin and I were having a debate as to the necessity of having this very important meeting in the coming week as well as the importance of my being here in Pune during my brother’s visit. If I had been communicating, right now, with a For-Profit organization I probably would not have raised this issue, not expecting them to understand the importance of human connections. It is because I am communicating with an NGO that I realize the importance of these connections will be understood. My brother’s visit gives me very little free time. The problem here is that I feel this interview is vital and I will need to prepare for it. In this regard I was wondering if it would inconvenience the members of the Intern & Volunteer Coordination Team if the meeting could be scheduled for the next week? I intend to make the best of an opportunity to interact with people at Saathi (even if it ends up being just a single interaction). It would be great to know what you feel about this. I hope to be changed by my experiences with Saathi, I hope to learn and it would be great if this connection we are creating could be symbiotic.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Nishant
P.S. I comprehend your initial reasons for not giving me feedback on my meetings with Nanda ma’am, but now that we (Saathi and I) are attempting to connect I’d just like to mention that I would be glad if I could still get some guidance. Thank you.
***an email which stated a request for a meeting at Saathi.
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