Year 2020 was certainly a mystery for everyone , it wasn’t what we actually expected when we wished each other on Jan 1st 2020. We all had big dreams, vacation plans, business trips & several other plans, but life literally took a halt or rather a twist ,when a virus turned out really a big deal for the whole world to tackle.
Pandemic changed everything - Our lifestyle , our routine & of course the most important thing "Our perspective" towards life.
World slowly started gravitating towards a "New Normal". Confining to our homes became new normal. Adjusting to this new normal was certainly not a cake walk.
We all did someting to keep ourselves uplifted :
- Few turned Home chef's - Banana Bread and Dalgona coffee ruled our kitchen & social media;
- Many of us turned out to fitness freaks & transformed themselves physically;
- Some discovered their love for home decor;
- There were many who took this as an opportunity to ace in their professional career by bagging numerous certifications;
I was doing a bit of everything, but I still felt something was missing. It could be because,I have never followed the herds and wanted to do something different which could given me a feeling of being content.
I took a little extra step of contributing back to my society by doing CSR activities within SAP.
I strongly belive that ,feeling of giving back and contributing to society is unparalleled.
After joining SAP , I unlearnt an important fact that Corporate social responsibility is just not meant to plant trees. It's certainly more than that.
Corporate social responsibility is traditionally broken into
four categories: environmental, philanthropic, ethical, and economic responsibility.
I volunteered myself in associating with an NGO named Empower Ananya. Empower Ananya aims to reach and skill students by working with corporate volunteers . Their ideology and aim is to reach the students from most under-served sections in aspirational districts, rural areas across India.
Topics for my sessions were :
- Software development Life cycle and Agile methodologies
This topic was quiet familiar to them as they have been reading about it in their curriculum, but sharing the same theoretical knowledge with my expertise did made a difference in their level of understanding.
- 2. Cloud Computing Basics
I was really skeptical of giving a session on cloud computing ,as ,I was not sure whether I would be able to explain it in a simpler way to college kids.I really thank my husband , who not only pushed me to take up this topic for the session, he also gave me so many creative and exciting ideas to explain kids about cloud computing and it surely was a hit among them.
Few things that I noticed while giving sessions virtually during the Pandemic :
- It wasn't easy for the students to handle the "new normal" -They were still finding out their coping up mechanism;
- I could sense their excitement when they switched on their video camera's - College kids are certainly missing out the best moments of their lives as they are confined to their respective homes;
- Sharing each other's smart phones - Their dedication has been commendable to attend sessions;
Apart from shelter,food and good health - A good wi-fi and a basic smart phone is also a "need" these days;
- I saw a change in them by the end of the session as they turned so expressive - Made me realize that, how important it is to interact whole heartedly along with sharing our experiences;
Contributing via CSR not only helped me as a professional but even as a person.
I not only developed a skill set of teaching but also gained more patience.It helped me improvising my presentation and communication skills.It not only helped in broadening my horizons but even my perspective towards life.I felt a sense of achievement and most importanly I felt that I have made some mark in someone's life.
Looking forward that each one of us can take out at least 50 minutes per week or even bi weekly to contirubute back to society so that we evolution never stops.
