In 2009 caught in a hiatus between graduating and beginning
his first job Nishant decided to test some unknown waters. He would work for an NGO…a world of which he
professed complete ignorance other than regarding them as intrepid independent
organisations fighting an entrenched system.
This blog would record his experiences as he interacted with the NGO Saathi.
Nishant’s mentor as he ventured into new territory was a founder member of Saathi.
At the same time Nishant was asked to
mentor Nilesh, an 11 year old growing up in a slum in Pune. This blog would record his experiences as he
interacted with Saathi and Nilesh.
Nishant’s world would touch that of Saathi and Nilesh only
briefly but he gained much in terms of self-belief and knowledge of a world
hitherto unknown. What Nishant brought
to the table was his objectivity (or naiveté) simply because he was an outsider
not entrenched in the NGO world. His
perspective was different and hopefully refreshing.
Perhaps it was this naivete and objectivity that in some
indirect way led to a degree of internal churning and change in Saathi.
The blog that Nishant began has been silent for near on 3
years. Meanwhile the worlds of
Saathi and Nilesh have changed, grown and face new challenges.
In his last post Nishant mentioned the desire to hand the
reins of the blog to someone else. So to
that end I will revive the blog and its two main strands, Saathi and Inheritance India.
The perspective here, therefore, is mine and informed with perhaps as much naivete as Nishant once brought to this
blog as an outsider.
From the outside, therefore, looking in….
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