The 'Atlas' spirit!

A nice day at work gives us satisfaction; it brings forth confidence and pleasant experiences; diligence and focus shows our attitude and anger reveals the weak side of our character. If we manage our stress well, we can enjoy the pleasant results of living our everyday life at ease.
Work is a part of our lives, we've always done it, always will do it, and thus it becomes part of who we are. It is not just a way to get money, but it shapes us into the persons we become. I am glad to be at this professionally satisfying phase in my life. My work brings to me inspiration and life each day.

This was a real busy week. A whole lot of meetings, activities and events were lined up for the entire week. We left for New York after work on Wednesday and reached there late in the night. The kind of support network Atlas Corps has generated from all the corners is amazing. The New York friends of Atlas Corps provided us a comfortable stay for the night. Thursday was the day of ‘BIG’ meetings. The first meeting in the morning was scheduled with the Ford Foundation, which is a resource foundation for innovative people and institutions worldwide. The Foundation goals are to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation and advance human achievement. They work mainly by making grants or loans that build knowledge and strengthen organizations and networks. The agenda of the meeting was to brief the Foundation about the work Atlas Corps is doing and the work profile of the fellows. We all introduced ourselves, talking about our backgrounds, work experiences and our host organizations under this fellowship program. They had a couple of interesting questions for us like the challenges we have faced so far, to what do we think is different about the non – profit sector in the United States. All the fellows of course had a whole of interesting experiences and perspectives to share.

Between this and the next meeting – we had a couple of hours to ourselves and we decided to do a little bit of sightseeing in the New York City. We walked around the Rockefeller centre, had lunch and clicked some nice pictures in front of the statue of Atlas. We also took the ferry to Statin Island and back, and then strolled around the Times Square. Honestly, New York gave me too much of a Mumbai feel. It was crazy busy - people running around, the old subway system, traffic jams, and high rise buildings. Phew! I think I really like the city feel of Washington DC. At least the buildings here don’t block the sun.

The second meeting was with the American India Foundation (AIF), which is a leading international development organization charged with the mission of accelerating social and economic change in India. AIF’s initiatives center around education, livelihood, and public health projects in India – with emphases on elementary education, women’s empowerment, and HIV/AIDS, respectively. The agenda was to brief AIF on the vision and mission of Atlas Corps and give fellow introductions. The meeting was very interactive and all of us (fellows) were asked to talk about our learning’s as well as contributions made during the first 3 months under the fellowship program.

Following this, we had the Atlas Corps reception at the Synergos Institute. Synergos is a nonprofit organization that brings people together to address the underlying causes of poverty and inequity in innovative ways that lead to meaningful, long-term change. The institute builds and supports networks of leaders engaged in efforts to reduce poverty and increase equity around the world. It was great interacting with a variety of people from various fields and organizations at the reception. We fellows did our regular ‘elevator speech’. After the reception, it was the drive back to DC. We were stuck in the traffic for long and finally got home at 2:30 in the night.

Well, this was not all. Next day was the Atlas Corps reception. After work, me and Gargi rushed back home to change for the event. Meeting Senator Harris Wofford and hear him talk was the best thing about the reception. He spoke about volunteerism, the foundation years of Americorps and Gandhi as an inspiring individual in this context. It was a special evening for Atlas Corps and for all of us.

During the weekend, my close friends (Vidhi & Prashantha) from New York came over. I was so happy to see them – had been trying to make plans to meet them all this while and there they were – finally! We walked around the Dupont circle – clicking pictures and went for Chinese food for dinner. We also watched a movie. After that, me and Vidhi ended up talking till 3:30 a.m. On Sunday, we decided to go to the National Mall but couldn’t get to any of the Monuments because Vidhi refused to walk! We had pizzas for lunch and after dropping me home, they were back on their way to New York. It's amazing - we friends meet after months and still it feels like we met just yesterday - we were back to our old times! Love you loads...

Life!

Another week has passed…these moments will last forever, not through words but through thoughts. Life is like a race…moving swiftly, with every runner well positioned on the track. With the gun shot, every individual runs his own course. Some people start well – others don’t and while some people have already finished the race, others are now just beginning.

Life…it is in steps, not in elevators and escalators.

Remember the little pleasures in life – (friends and friendship being the centre stage of our lives) laughing out loud, sharing smiles, talking a lot, doing as you please, singing songs, dancing in the rain, falling in love, listening to music (with meaningful parts), making funny faces, linking arms and walking down the street, hearing each other and giving advice – all those ‘so – called’ silly things and silly ways. Hmmm…I miss all those ‘silly’ moments.

Work during the week was fantastic! I attended the Brown Bag lunch and Conference on Forced Labour, Human Trafficking and the Rule of Law for the poor, held at the World Bank office. The conference focused on questions like - Why poverty reduction efforts need to consider
Rule of Law for the poor and what it will take to build it. Mr. Gary A. Haugen - President of
International Justice Mission (IJM) was the speaker for the conference and did a presentation highlighting the IJM experience. It was found that forced labor/human trafficking is representative of a more general failure to provide basic law enforcement protections for the poor in the developing world. IJM's casework experience with thousands of individual poor people provided insights as to why "work- arounds" for broken public justice systems that may
work for economic elites or commerce do not work for poor people, and why the failure of the police, courts and supporting services to protect the poor in their person and property undermines poverty alleviation programs.

I also attended the panel discussion organized by the Human Trafficking Caucus & Human Rights Caucus on rural slave Labor in Brazil along with viewing of the documentary ‘Bound by Promises’. The documentary tells the story of men who set out in search of work and are taken to isolated ranches in the Amazon region, only to find that they have been lured into debt bondage. The U. S. and Brazil share a strong economic relationship and a common vision for the future. The briefing brought to light the issues Brazil has faced, the steps it has taken to overcome them and the blueprint it has laid out for ending the use of forced labor.

I also got the opportunity to speak at an after school civic program, organized by Liberty’s Promise, a local nonprofit organization that supports young immigrants in need. It was very interactive and I spoke all about myself, my background, my work experience and information on slavery issues and community involvement. The immigrant youth groups were very engaged and had a lot of questions to ask.

This was followed by 2 days of office retreat – which actually meant coming together of all the FTS staff, to share updates and strategize for next year. The staff from California and Connecticut office had come down – it was in fact great to put faces to people’s names – with whom I was communicating only via emails.

And then came Diwali – the festival of lights – celebrating the triumph of good over evil. We did a massive Indian dinner – invited a few friends over – did ‘puja’- lighted candles and had a great time together. The following day I had plans to go to New York, to spend the weekend with a really close friend of mine – but phew - I got up with some fever and terrible body ache, and had to cancel my trip. I hope to see her sometime soon – have been waiting to meet her since the time I arrived in US.

Oh yes – during the retreat – one favourite song of every staff was played. I loved Ama’s favourite song – ‘Talk to her’, which goes:

When you talk to her talk to her
Like you'd want somebody a
Talk to your mama
Don't get smart with her
Have a heart to heart
With her just like you
Would with your daughter
Cause everything you do or say
You got to live with every day
She's somebody's baby
She's somebody's sister
She's somebody's mama…

The song celebrates womanhood and the spirit of being a woman.

Cheers!

Happiness!

I can see happiness…in the brightness of the sun, in the lining of a cloud, in the blueness of the sky, in the cold autumn wind, in the colorful leaves, in the cheering of the crowd, in the smiles of my colleagues, in the lovely food we cook and eat, in the long distance family calls that I make and in the picture of my beloved that I have right next to my bed. Happiness…well it’s all about our ‘state of mind’!

The world is full of happiness… just that sometimes it's hard to recognize. But if we put our negative thoughts behind us…happiness can be ours – yours and mine. All we need to do is give a smile…a smile that is contagious…so that the smile can be passed on.

The week at work was real busy and good. I had to make some strategic fund raising plans and set out the priorities for the organization. We also had a session on fund raising with an expert Consultant, giving us an insight into what would and what would not work when applying for funds from the foundations. Following that, I did some research on foundations funding slavery and human trafficking projects, marking them by their assets and income, examined their investment activity and analyzed their historical giving patterns, recipients and trends. I used Metasoft’s Foundation Search for doing all of this. It’s amazing! Technology really surprises me everyday – it’s so powerful – information on anything (almost everything) is just a click away. I would prefer to call ourselves ‘tech slaves’ rather than ‘tech savvy.’ Can we imagine being without a computer at work even for a day.

Alejandra – Atlas Service Corps Colombian Program Director was in DC last week and a party was organized to welcome her short stay in DC as well as to bid her good bye before she left for Colombia. Alejandra – it was lovely meeting you and we wish you a life of nothing but bliss.

Weekend was bright and beautiful. Saturday was the cleaning day, followed by a visit to the National Mall on Sunday. We saw the White House, which to me looked pretty ordinary. Further, we saw the Washington Monument, built in honor of George Washington, which also is the most prominent attractions in Washington, D.C. Then we went to the National World War II Memorial, which commemorates the sacrifice and celebrates the victory of the of the WWII generation. The place is a fantastic balance of classical and modernist styles of architecture and blends beautifully with the natural surroundings.

Hmmm…all in all…it was a happy week. Happiness is the only drug we crave for and can’t get enough of, and it is also the ONLY ONE worth taking. Ever realized…happiness is all around us turning dull frowns into beautiful smiles. J