A journey from Corporate to Social Entrepreneurship | Gouree Manjarekar | TEDxTilakwadi
Summary
TLDRThe speaker shares her journey from a middle-class upbringing to becoming a voice for rural women and children. Inspired by her philanthropic parents and Sudha Murthy, she co-founded 'Punk', a social initiative that empowers rural women through skill development and employment in handicrafts. Despite societal pressures, she champions education and equality, highlighting stories of resilience and hope. The summary calls for collective social responsibility to uplift and support the underprivileged.
Takeaways
- 🙏 The speaker feels privileged to share her journey and voice the experiences of underprivileged rural women and children.
- 👧 A childhood incident of giving an ice cream to a needy girl taught the speaker the joy of giving and its profound happiness.
- 🏡 Raised in a middle-class family with philanthropic values, the speaker was encouraged to help those less fortunate.
- 🎓 The speaker was academically successful, inspired by figures like Sudha Murthy, and had aspirations to contribute to society.
- 💡 The idea of 'giving' was a pivotal moment that led the speaker to prioritize community service over a corporate career.
- 💍 Meeting her husband during college introduced a shared vision of development and staying connected to their roots.
- 🌱 The establishment of the Joy Bank Foundation, later renamed PUNK (Wings of Hope), aimed to create a positive societal impact.
- 👩🏫 The foundation faced initial funding challenges, leading the speaker to take up various jobs to support its mission.
- 🧵 PUNK Handicrafts was initiated to provide sustainable livelihoods for rural women by skilling them in stitching and crafting.
- 🌐 The COVID-19 pandemic became an opportunity to produce over three lakh masks, supporting the women artisans.
- 📚 The foundation's initiatives include educational support for rural children and awareness programs for menstrual hygiene.
- 🌟 The speaker emphasizes the importance of education and equality, sharing the story of Akshata to highlight societal barriers to female education.
Q & A
What was the speaker's realization about the importance of giving during her childhood?
-The speaker realized the importance of giving when she was about 10 to 11 years old at a fair, where she gave her ice cream to a little girl in need, and the happiness she felt from giving was greater than the happiness she felt from receiving.
What inspired the speaker to focus on social work and philanthropy?
-The speaker was inspired by her parents' philanthropic nature, the incident of giving her ice cream to a girl at a fair, and Sudha Murthy's philanthropic work through Infosys Foundation.
What was the speaker's educational background in terms of her field of study?
-The speaker completed her graduation and post-graduation in Belgaum, earning a Master's degree in Computer Applications.
Why did the speaker decide to quit her job as a software engineer?
-The speaker decided to quit her job after realizing during a CSR activity that community service gave her more happiness than her work in coding.
What is the concept behind the foundation the speaker started?
-The foundation, initially called Joy Bank and later renamed to Punk (Wings of Hope), was conceptualized as a virtual bank where people deposit happiness and those in need withdraw joy.
How did the speaker and her husband approach rural development?
-The speaker's husband chose to stay in his small hometown, starting a business and employing local youth. The speaker moved to her husband's town and started a foundation for social work.
What was the initial challenge the speaker faced when starting the foundation?
-The initial challenge was the lack of funds. To overcome this, the speaker started taking tuitions and coaching classes to generate funds for the foundation.
What is Punk Handicrafts and how does it impact rural women?
-Punk Handicrafts is an initiative that aims to skill rural women in stitching, providing them with a livelihood and an alternative to manual labor. It has skilled over 300 rural women and provided them work during the pandemic by making masks.
What is the significance of the 'Make in India' tag on the products made by Punk Handicrafts?
-The 'Make in India' tag signifies that the products are manufactured locally, which brings a sense of pride and promotes the work of rural women, contributing to the country's economy.
Can you describe the Gyanvardhi Nyojna initiative by the foundation?
-Gyanvardhi Nyojna is an initiative focused on empowering rural women and educating rural children, covering the educational course for boys and girls in rural areas.
What is the story of Akshata and how did the foundation impact her life?
-Akshata was a bright student who topped her school and stood seventh in the entire Karnataka board. Despite her potential, her mother wanted her to stop studying and take a government job to support the family. The foundation initially supported her education, but she had to stop midway. However, she later completed her BA and became a head village accountant, showing her resilience and determination.
Outlines
🙌 Empathy and Philanthropy: A Personal Journey
The speaker begins by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to share her experiences and highlights her intention to represent the voice of underprivileged rural women and children. Raised in a middle-class family with philanthropic values, she was inspired by her parents to help those less fortunate. A pivotal moment in her youth, when she gave her ice cream to a needy girl, taught her the joy of giving. The speaker pursued higher education in computer applications and was influenced by Sudha Murty's philanthropic work, aspiring to make a difference in rural areas. Meeting her husband during college, who chose to develop his hometown rather than pursue a corporate career, further fueled her desire to contribute to rural development.
🌟 Founding Joy Bank and Empowering Rural Women
The speaker moved to her husband's hometown, Chikodi, and against the advice of friends and family, started the Joy Bank Foundation in 2008, later renamed to Punk, meaning 'Wings of Hope.' Initially facing funding challenges, she taught various classes to raise money. The foundation focused on community service, with the speaker personally supporting rural women by listening to their struggles and providing advice. Recognizing the potential of rural women, she established Punk Handicrafts in 2014 to provide them with stitching skills, enabling them to earn a livelihood. The initiative has since empowered over 300 women, including producing masks during the pandemic, and the products are proudly marked with the 'Make in India' tag.
📚 Education and Skill Development Initiatives
The speaker emphasizes the importance of education and skills for development, introducing various initiatives under Punk Foundation. 'Gyanvardhi Nyojna' supports the education of rural children, while 'Kittypack' provides handmade bags and stationery to underprivileged children. 'Happy Periods' raises awareness about menstrual hygiene and promotes sustainable reusable pads, also handmade at Punk. 'Pang Pasha' involves international volunteers in mentoring rural children, and 'Blankets of Happiness' donates handmade blankets during crises. The speaker shares a personal story of Akshata, a bright student whose education was interrupted by family circumstances, illustrating the challenges faced by rural youth and the importance of support systems.
🌱 The Power of Hope and Social Responsibility
In the concluding paragraph, the speaker reflects on the common thread of hope among the rural women she has encountered, despite their lack of educational opportunities. She calls upon the audience, as educated individuals, to take on their social responsibility to uplift and support the voiceless. The speaker encourages mutual inspiration, motivation, and societal contribution, leaving the audience with a message of empowerment and the potential for positive change.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Privileged
💡Rural Women
💡Philanthropy
💡Empathy
💡CSR Activity
💡Foundation
💡Skill Development
💡Sustainability
💡Menstrual Hygiene
💡Educational Equality
💡Social Responsibility
Highlights
The speaker feels privileged to share her journey and voice the experiences of rural women and children who lack opportunities.
Raised in a middle-class family with philanthropic parents who emphasized helping the less fortunate.
A childhood incident with an ice cream vendor taught the speaker the joy of giving and its profound impact.
The speaker was inspired by Sudha Murthy's philanthropic work and aimed to make a similar impact on rural women.
Meeting her husband during college introduced the idea of staying close to roots and contributing to rural development.
The speaker's decision to work for a company with a strong CSR focus led to her 'day of awakening' to community service.
Quitting her job to start a foundation for social work, despite opposition from friends and family.
The foundation, initially called Joy Bank, was renamed PUNK, aiming to be a virtual bank of happiness and support.
The foundation faced initial funding challenges, leading the speaker to take up various teaching jobs to support it.
The speaker's work with rural women revealed their potential and the need for opportunities beyond manual labor.
PUNK Handicrafts was established to provide sustainable livelihoods by skilling rural women in stitching.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw PUNK Handicrafts producing over three lakh masks, supporting women during the crisis.
PUNK Foundation's initiatives focus on empowering rural women and educating children, emphasizing education's role in development.
The speaker shares the story of Akshata, a bright student whose education was halted due to societal pressures and family needs.
The importance of being a voice for the voiceless and the social responsibility of the educated to uplift society.
The speaker's belief in the power of hope and the extraordinary resilience of rural women despite their challenges.
The call to action for the audience to inspire, uplift, and motivate each other to make a difference in society.
Transcripts
i am so privileged and honored to be
sharing this morning with you all and to
be on stage with such eminent
personalities
but today
i won't be talking just about my journey
but
i will be talking and i will be the
voice of several rural women and
children who do not have the
opportunities which most of us present
over here have
i grew up in a middle class family with
extremely humble and philanthropic
parents
who constantly reminded me to thank god
for all the blessings
and the only way to repay it by helping
those who were less fortunate
one incident which made me realize the
importance of their teaching was when i
was about
10 to 11 years of age
and i had my summer vacations
i had been to a mela affair with my
parents
at the fair i saw a vendor selling ice
creams
and i so badly wanted to have an ice
cream so i kept insisting my mom to give
one for me but you all know how
difficult it is to convince your mothers
especially for an ice cream
but after a lot of buttering she finally
agreed
and i was so so happy to hold that ice
cream in my hand
i felt victorious
when i was about to eat that ice cream
i saw two eyes staring at me from a
distance
she was a little girl in tone clothes
she did not come to me neither did she
ask me anything but she just kept
staring at me
and i don't know what made me do that
but the next moment i went to her and i
handed over my ice cream to her
she ran away quickly with a smile on her
face
and that smile gave me another level of
happiness
getting the ice cream made me happy but
giving it to her made me happier
and that was the moment i realized the
importance and the happiness of giving
and that feeling which i had was
completely magical
fast forward coming to my college days i
completed my graduation and post
graduation in belgaum i completed my
master's of computer applications
and i was a bright student so for
obvious reasons my professors and my
mentors had high hopes of hopes from me
of getting placed in a good company with
a good pay package
during that time
for any student getting placed in
infosys was a dream
but what fascinated me more than
emphasis was infosys foundation
sudha murthy was my greatest inspiration
i checked all her articles about her
philanthropy about her work and how her
work impacted women from rural areas
she was my role model and i secretly
wanted to be just like her
and i believe that with good heart if
you want something the entire universe
conspires in helping you to achieve it
and that is exactly what happened with
me
i met my dear husband during my college
days
he was pursuing his mechanical
engineering in the same college and our
wavelengths matched
and one thing which he told me and which
had a very great impact on my mind was
when he asked me that if all educated
youth start leaving their smaller towns
and villages how is rural india going to
develop
wow
what a strong statement but i thought
that it is easier said than done
but he was different because despite
having a bright career despite having
various options and being a topper
himself he decided to stay close to his
roots
he started his business in a small home
town and decided to employ several other
youth in the process
and he became my next inspiration whom i
started looking up to
meanwhile i was placed in two companies
and i decided to work with mine tree
technologies and i moved to bangalore
i was good in coding i loved coding i
worked as a software engineer
until one day which i call as my day of
awakening
we had a csr activity in the company and
we visited ramnagar which is a part of
rural bangalore
we spent the entire day there
in a government school
spending time with the students and
children there telling them moral
stories having a lot of activities and
games
they told us about their stories as well
and at the end of that day i realized
that although i loved coding but
community service is something which
gave me happiness and that was something
which i would rather do the rest of my
life
i quit my job i got married and i moved
to my husband's
place chikodi which is a small town
surrounded by villages in north
karnataka
and trust me
my friends and family were horrified
with my decision
but the same year in 2008 i started the
foundation and then started my journey
of social work
we named it as joy bank i conceptualized
it as a virtual bank not a typical bank
but a place where people who had
something to give deposited happiness
and people in need withdrew the joy
it is now renamed as punk
punk which means wings of hope
so we started a lot of donation
activities like visiting old age homes
orphanages schools but the initial years
were very difficult because we needed
funds
i started taking tuitions for school
students engineering coaching classes
music classes i did everything so that
we could have funds for the foundation
we tried to continuously make a positive
change in the society
and we were blessed to have many helping
hands join us as days passed
my interest started increasing when i
started seeing that how our work is
making a positive change in the
community in the lives of people
rural women who were less privileged
started approaching me they started
coming to me to get advice to share
their struggles
and i listened to them in genuine non
ginger non-judgmental manner
giving them comfort help and advice
whenever required and that was the time
i realized
the importance and the power of simply
being there for someone
when i worked with the poorest of poor i
found out that there is that there is
very high potential in rural india but
what is lacking is opportunity
for most of the rural underprivileged
women
who they they do not have any formal
education nor do they have skills and
for them the most easiest way i can't
call it easy but the most obvious way of
earning is manual labor
which is not easy it's very difficult
many years back i met a lady
who was working at a construction site
she had two daughters
and she was carrying a pile of bricks on
her head
she might be fifth or sixth month
pregnant and i could see that that work
was physically very disturbing for her
when i asked her the reason to do that
work
she told me that she knows the risks
behind it but she has no choice
because she has to feed her family
and that shook me to the core
2014 we decided to start punk
handicrafts with the aim to make a more
sustainable impact on the lives of rural
women
the idea sparked when my cousin smruthi
and my brother-in-law manish
just discussed with me that instead of
only focusing on donations why not skill
these rural women so that they can earn
a livelihood and we generate livelihood
opportunities for several rural women
so punk handicrafts
employs
skills
and provides a platform for many many
rural women
today we have skilled more than 300
rural women
with professional stitching skills and
they have mastered the art of stitching
uniforms hospital apparels bags and many
more
you know handmade products
i'm glad to share that during pandemic
we gave them a
big work of almost more than three lakh
masks
all these women who are working with us
have their husbands either as truck
cleaners rickshaw drivers many of them
are alcoholic so they need support
during this time of crisis and they got
the support and the family was really
very happy
and it's a very proud moment for us to
see that our products are getting
exported and the make in india tag when
we put it on our products our hearts
swell with pride
honestly this journey would not have
been possible without the support of our
co-founder manish
although i started punk foundation with
a vision
it was manish who gave it a proper
direction
through punk foundation
over the years we have a lot of
initiatives
which focus on
empowering rural women and educating
rural kids
so this is gyanvardhi nyojna under which
we cover the educational course of rural
boys and girls
i believe that education and skills is
equal to development of any country
this is kittypack initiative
under this initiative we
provide handmade bags
and stationery and books to rural
children under privileged children and
the beauty of this donation activities
is that all these products which are
being donated are handmade at punk
handicrafts so not only do they help the
kids who are getting the donated
products but they also help us to
provide employment opportunities to
several rural women
this is happy periods initiative
now under this initiative we spread
awareness about menstrual hygiene
to rural women and slums
we also promote reusable sanitary pads
which are sustainable means of menstrual
practices
and all these reusable pads are again
handmade at punk a very unique concept
which we have started at punk
now menstrual hygiene in rural parts is
a topic of concern it's a very huge
topic which i'll keep it for the next
ted talk
we have punk part sharla
pang parshala is a initiative under
which many many volunteers not just from
india but from abroad have joined us in
mentoring rural children recently we
have started working with a school in
nagnur village and we are working for
you know mentoring all the students to
boost their confidence level to teach
them basic uh english skills
so this is about pang pasha then we have
blankets
of happiness where handmade blankets are
given during the
during crisis like we have you know
floods and
other crisis
this is
winter jacket donation drive all these
jackets again are handmade by the rural
woman and i cannot tell you the
happiness when these women stitch it for
these underprivileged kids the happiness
which they get while stitching these
products
today as i stand here in front of you i
go back to my roots i come from a family
of teachers
so education had a very important role
in my life
and i was the only girl child of my
parents but never did i think never was
i treated less than a son you might be
thinking why am i emphasizing so much
about education and equality it might
seem normal to all of us
but this is something which is lacking
in rural india
this is the story of akshata
now akshata was a very bright student
she came to me when she was in 10
standard
this is her marx card akshata had topped
her school not just her school she took
stood seventh to an entire karnataka
board
but her mother was working as a
household maid and her father was
absconding
her mother could not afford her
education
so we thought that we will cover her
educational costs under the foundation
she decided to take commerce and
she did exceedingly well even in her
higher secondary she was again topper to
the college and she could stood first to
the district
i had very high hopes from akshata
she had the caliber of becoming an iis
officer and i told her that i'll provide
everything for you to do that but
destiny had some other plans because one
day akshata's mother along with akshata
came to me with a bunch of bananas
and she told me madam please take this
and allow akshata not to study
i was shocked was it a bribe i was
getting to allow not to allow her to
study
i asked her the reason she told me that
akshata was qualified for some
government job
i convinced her in every possible way
but all in vain
her mother asked me that what is
education going to do
her job is going to give her money and
with that money akshata can raise her
younger brother
so akshata
stopped her study midway
when she was in become two can you
imagine a girl of that caliber who was
seventh to entire karnataka board could
not even complete her degree
but akshata was a fighter
because after joining the job
after two years she did an external ba
and today she is working as the head
village accountant in raibataluka
akshata rupa rani apsara afroza there
are so many women and so many stories
worth sharing but we are short of time
these are the ladies who teach me who
inspire me and the lessons which they
teach me cannot be read in any book and
cannot be taught by any book
they are extraordinary women who who
could not have the opportunity to go to
school but one thing which all of them
have in common
is hope
today all of us sitting over here we are
all educated and i think it's our social
responsibility to be the voice of these
voiceless
let us all inspire each other uplift
each other motivate each other
and make a difference in the society in
whatever way we can thank you
you
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