Program: Virtual Field Support

She was bright and full of ideas but could not find the space to express there. She felt that her potential was undermined as a trainee. Despite the family conditions, she decided to continue her education in technology and enrolled herself in the M.Tech program in her city.

It was during that time in September 2018 that the opportunity to work with Virtual Field Support knocked at her doors. Expressing her gratitude to the organisation she says, “After joining VFS I started feeling confident about myself and my ideas. The team gave me a series of opportunities to show my potential. I was involved in improvising and strengthening the legal processes of the government systems.” She is proud of her work and gets the due appreciation from her government stakeholders and her team here.

Her learning journey, full of opportunities and challenges, started when she stepped out of Bhopal for the first time to attend orientation workshop in Piramal School of Leadership, Baggar, Rajasthan. She didn’t have to look back after that. “I got opportunities to visit the District Institute of Education Training Bhopal, took a workshop of education officials and lecturers,” tells Sudha. Facilitating workshops for people of the education department has boosted Sudha’s confidence in the last 17 months. A girl from a humble family with a background in technology now supports 52 District Education Officers daily. She thanks VFS for the training that has helped her in all her achievements in the field of education so far. She has become tech-savvy and supports the people in the education department to navigate through legal websites.

Appreciation helps people grow as much as constructive criticism.Here in VFS, appreciation from her stakeholders and colleagues has worked for Sudha. She is grateful for the lesson of empathy she is learning here. Empathy is not just in the documents, it binds the organisation together. While working with the officials, the Virtual Support team also gets the opportunity to interact with children. “I am glad to be interacting and working with the children as well, for their better future, for supporting them in their education journey. No child deserves to be deprived of education opportunities and better life chances. I love interacting with those children the most,” tells Sudha.

Sudha feels valued here; she is confident about her ideas now. She believes that she could not have gained the kind of exposure and confidence anywhere else in Bhopal. There are many Sudhas out there feeling empowered and sharing their life-changing experiences with Virtual Field Support in many states of India. Virtual Field Support teamemphasises on continuing the path of empowering women and supporting their growth in coming years.

Along with supporting teachers virtually in the teaching learning process they are continuously harnessing the power of local youth to support teacher deficient schools.

In one of its first campaign to improve learning outcomes of primary and elementary school children, VFS called for volunteers from across Dhubri in June 2019. They called it Prayaswhich translates to try, an attempt. They motivated the youth to contribute to the education of the children of their community and mobilised 2400 volunteers to teach students in more than 1200 schools of Dhubri. Volunteers were to take remedial classes for 45 days starting July 1, 2019. VFS continuously engaged with them in these 45 days; appreciated and encouraged their work in good faith. As a result 800 volunteers expressed their desire to continue for the social cause and have been teaching since, improving learning outcomes and tackling teacher shortage in Dhubri.

One such volunteer is AltabHussain. He has been associated with Prayassince the beginning and has been teaching in SalkataJanapriya High School, South Salmara Block. “I volunteer because I love teaching and I want to do something good for the society,” tells Altab when asked about his motivation behind volunteering. A self-driven individual, Altab feels happy to be able to contribute for a good cause.

Local youth of Dhubri is an asset for us. Teachers of primary and elementary schools are very happy with their work in schools. Community members are also appreciating their efforts,” says SumanBanarjee, Program Manager,Virtual Field Support Team.

Along with supporting teacher deficient schools in improving learning outcomes, Prayas is also bridging school-community gap. Bringing in native volunteers made the community engage more in school activities. They acknowledge and appreciate the contribution of volunteers as well. For instance, community was so happy with Altab’s work that School Management Committee decided to reward him with monetary compensation for his efforts. With this appreciation and encouragement, Prayasvolunteers are continuing to bring in new energy in the schools of Dhubri.

She did not find it a safe space to work for women. She was not learning new things and the job became boring as well. Her fears of harassment at the workplace and lack of confidence led her to live three months of joblessness. It affected the family financially. For her, it was a hopeless and lonely time. It was during the same time that a friend told her about a job opportunity with the Virtual Field Support team of Piramal School of Leadership in Bhopal. Khushboo was still skeptical about the safety of women in the workplace.

In September 2018, she eventually joined Piramal’s Virtual Field Support. She describes the opportunity as a boon to her family and the work a life-changing process for her. It allowed her to learn, express, and grow as an individual as well as an employee. When the team was finalised, all the new joinees were called toBaggar, Rajasthan for an orientation. Khushboo tells that she felt safe in an all-women team here. Sessions on empathy, communication, and prevention of sexual harassment policy helped her overcome the fear of an unsafe work environment. “When women in my team shared their stories, I realised that I am not alone. There are many like me. I started believing in people of the organisation”, tells Khushboo. It helped her boost her confidence as well.

While sharing her journey, Khushboo tells that she is becoming a better listener and a good communicator in her role as an associate in the Virtual Field Support team. Today, she converses with education officials, solves the problems of teachers, goes to RajyaShiksha Kendra and gets appreciation from IAS officers. She tells that the appreciation from her stakeholders and empathy from her team keeps her going. Speaking of her family situation after joining VFS she says, “I can support my family of three women financially as well as emotionally after joining here. I practice active listening and empathy with my mother and sister. After coming here, I am growing as an individual.” She found a safe space as well as an environment and support to grow her skills. It has been 17 months since, and she has not looked back once. Women at her workplace have become family and coming to the center every day fills her with new hope.

The Virtual Field Support team supports all its women in their journey by providing them a support system. Khushboo Khan is one of those many women in the team who feel empowered, confident, and valued; while growing their skills and moving forward with the job. Virtual Field Support team has become a hope and safe space to grow for many such women with each other.