Where are we now?

A corporate job and two masters later, I decided development is the way I want to go and have always wanted to go in my life. I did have a five year plan but I decided why wait and jumped straight in! The corporate life also gave me NO satisfaction rather, more discontent, displeasure and a lot more questions. 

I got to India, excited and ready to be a part of change. The new change that we see taking over the world. I wanted to be a catalyst of change within my society and community. However, reality hit me hard as soon as I got here and started working temporarily at an NGO in Chennai. No, it was not a young organization, rather operating for 23 years, so I assumed they must have their foundations laid well and roots running deep. But no masters and development course will prepare you for what you are about to experience. 
It’s always, ALWAYS all about the money!It’s not about a just cause, feelings, passion or generosity. MONEY BABY! It’s always what mattered. So me with my righteous attitude walked in only to find out there is no place for it in the real world. I witnessed and learnt about the multiple ways to swindle, connive and lie your way around to get donor money into the director’s personal accounts. False records, fudging paperwork, make shift bank accounts of strangers, salaries transferred to staff who don’t exist and the list goes on. And of course the well known annual display of the neatly dressed English speaking sample population for when the donors arrive to put on a five-minute show, while they go back to their lives in dingy rooms and makeshift houses struggling to learn their ABC’s under street lamps. 

So you the skilled worker might be surprised to find how so much resources go nowhere it's intended and yet, you wake up another day and head into work trusting things will get better and you will make them better. And you try and use your skills to tell them newer methods and approaches to facilitating change in communities, conducting research and training. Surprised to see that they are unaware and refuse to adapt to newer practices I did take initiative. "What you've learnt in school is not the same as the field " and I sat there wondering why do we even go to study in the first place??

Did you know we have one NGO for every 400 people in India? NGO's claim to work with an average of 1000 people in targeted areas and yet we see no change. While they harp on in their mission statements and companies don't mind the pay-out for their annual CSR brochure. It shocks me really for everyone who's rejected my application because they can't pay me based on standard living expenses. I can see they have the money, it's right there, but they don't want skill, they don't want talent passion or motivation. They want a half-wit who will nod when told and do as instructed and then a blind eye when it's not their business because really ...they don't want change. Sorry to burst your bubble but they really don't. 

I’ve had more than one person tell me they left regular 9-5 desk jobs because it was too much work for little money so they decided to start an NGO because the returns are much greater than then the investment. So you see my dear friend, it's not as lovely as they paint it on the outside, it's not that easy to even implement what they should be sincerely. But as I type this out, I have Zootopia playing in the background and the bunny, Detective Hopps says " I implore you to try. Look inside yourself and change starts with you, with me and all of us". So I guess all we can do is keep trying :)