The start of our second full day in Mumbai was eye-opening even though we never left the hotel. By now you might have read from other posts about our meetings with three trail-blazing India NGOs: Under the Mango Tree, Be! Fund, and ATMA. These meetings were truly inspiring. The women who came to us were so impressive in the way they communicated their organizations' mission, as well as their own passions. Over chai and cookies, our class devoured each hour with questions ranging from specifics about business operations to details about how the women leaders managed to balance work and family. One theme I kept picking up was the power of peer-learning as a way to spread and sustain their efforts. UTMT uses experienced bee farmers to train new farmers, Be! Fund hosts meetings for their young entrepreneurs to share ideas and learn from each other, and ATMA has alumni on staff to help new partners navigate the process. I felt so energized (but hungry) about the meeting marathon!
Afterwards, our team climbed into what could only be described as a Magic-School-Bus-meets-Hippie-Van on our way to Bandra district for shopping. There were plenty of shops but I had the best time people watching during a 10 min downpour. After a couple hours we were picked up (by a different bus) to head to the Mahalaxmi Temple. The Hindi temple is a place where people pray for wealth and prosperity, both spiritual and monetary. It seemed like a good way to bookend our meetings with the Indian NGOs that seek to bring the people of India the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment