12th April 2015
Few days back we met Venkat, CEO @ JA India at his home in Chandigarh.
Venkat, Bindu and I, had long conversations about a number of topics including ShikshaDaan, philanthropy, foundations and founders, NGOs in India, spirituality, corporates, board members and more.
Of the many things that Venkat said one thing that stuck me and stuck to me is ‘connecting the dots’.
As I went to sleep that night, I realised that much more than becoming the bridge between Donors and Beneficiaries through the ShikshaDaan Yatra, Bindu and I have started ‘Connecting the Dots’, facilitating the coming together of many forces and personalities working in the domain of education.
Just before the commencement, during and after the March ShikshaDaan Yatra, we met a number of people from NGOs, the corporate world, social ventures, validating institutions and technology companies to present ShikshaDaan and our Yatra plans and objectives. We also had in depth conversations with them as to how we can collaborate symbiotically. We then realised that almost every one of them did not know about someone else in the same space but would be immensely benefited by their association. As Bindu and I deeply believe in having an abundance mentality, we had no hesitation in introducing the potential collaborators so that they can carry forward their interests and collaborate for mutual benefits.
Just one example of connecting the dots – Arushi India, based in Bhopal has been doing outstanding work in the area of disability for more than a decade. V-Shesh based in Chennai, is a social venture set up to create potential employment opportunities for differently abled people. Through a program designed by V-Shesh, they have placed about 150 visually impaired candidates in a leading bank. We got V-Shesh and Arushi India, introduced immediately through mail. They are now finding ways of working together.
We have made several such purposeful introductions in the last month and a half and I must say that our friends have also introduced to us many such wonderful connections. In fact Venkat will connect us with a number of key people who in turn would make a difference to ShikshaDaan and the ShikshaDaan Yatra. Collaboration is one of the core values of ShikshaDaan and connecting the dots helps us to live by this value.
I completely agree with Venkat about ‘connecting the dots’. Thanks for mentioning the same. Happy to share Steve Jobs’ quote on connecting the dots.