So what have you FAILED at?

        The declaration of SSC (Class 10th) scores heralds news of suicides committed by students who fail to score the expected marks or do not pass out. Many factors contribute to the high suicide rates- the stress induced by family and peer pressure being the highest contributors among all factors.

    Its time we introduced the stories of  entrepreneurs who have faced various challenges in their lives ranging from failing and dropping out of school/college to the outright rejection of their ideas, yet they never gave up.

        The most notable stories are those of Dhirubhai Ambani, Micheal Jordan, Bill Gates, Jan Koum, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Sarah Berkeley and  many more.These stories teach us the true meaning of "Failure is the stepping stone to success".

Stories of  people like Lizzie Velasquez serves as an inspiration. She not only fought against a rare disease but also against bullying.Today, she is a motivational speaker and has published two books.

 This drives home the point that even if cases like that of Founder of Reliance Industries,Dhirubhai Ambani,  are exceptional, there are many more ones of common people overcoming the odds stacked against them and finding the will to go on after repeated failures. There is no dearth in finding motivation to bring about a change in the psyche of the society from stories of local heroes, many of whom share tales very much like our own.

          Both students and parents need to learn that failing is not the end of the world.The need to inculcate this thought process has become very important for the simple reason that it is human nature to fear failure, but the courage to overcome one’s fears is also inbred in humans. Also we should not label students as intelligent or average.  

We cannot expect each human being to be molded in the same shape; the areas at which we humans excel are so very vast and different.  The talents showcased by us are varied, including academics, sports, arts, creativity, leadership and the list goes on.

        Teachers and parents should recognize this and cultivate this talent at an early age. Resources to enhance the hidden talents must be made available and the freedom to follow their true calling should be awarded to the youth.

 For only then would the fear of failure be curbed and a path to follow their dreams with  courage be forged.

Schools could do the following:

            ·   Conduct seminars on motivation

·   Let students learn and meet people who have fought failures and obstacles and emerged as winners: college graduates, entrepreneurs, sportsman, writers, artists, leaders, activists.

·    Organize interactive sessions with parents discussing their careers and struggles. It will be a source of inspiration for students to not give up and learn from their parents. Parents will get a chance to know about their kid's insecurities and obstacles and support them.

·   Movies like Chak De India, Frozen, Pursuit of Happyness can be motivational and teach students that life is full of ups and downs and that getting up after each failure not only makes them more courageous, but also gives them an impetus to face the more important hurdles in life ,since life is known to be unpredictable and full of new challenges.

The courage to face failure is looked upon as a major strength in today’s world.

It is believed that failure makes a person stronger, more sincere and prepares a person to tackle any twists life throws at him. 

             
 It can be said that failure in imminent, it is unavoidable. So it is in the best interests of the students as well as their parents to learn the art of coping with failures early on in their lives. Many resources are now disposed to the youth and therefore it becomes the responsibility of not only the students but the society as a whole to make the best use of them to get the optimal results.



The author of the article JZ volunteers with CACR on weekends along with her current job.

CACR is a education non-profit working with perseverance to improve the quality of education in public schools of India 

Anything is possible...My journey with the ' CRAZY' people- PART IV

Nowadays ,often  when I watch the Indian Talk Show ‘Kuch Bhi Ho Sakta Hai’ hosted by versatile actor Anupam Kher on Television I tend to get into a flashback mode -Almost 7 years back it was a weekday evening, C.R.Y. (Ngo-Child relief and you) had invited me for a donors’ meet at a school in Khar Mumbai. They showcased the work they had been doing for many years, i.e support and  advocacy for child rights.

Never did I dream that a time will come when I would feel so strongly about this cause and get so involved with the issues, that I would  start  my own non-profit organization –“Citizens Association for Child Rights [CACR]”.

On 28^th June 2014, CACR completed a year of its operation and thanks to the blessings of the Almighty and the good wishes of our members and volunteers, the celebration cum orientation workshop was very well attended despite the heavy downpour in Mumbai.

WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN -TOGETHER

 The experience of anchoring  similar initiatives for the earlier NGO sensitized and  instilled an unknown confidence within me, to go in the world and talk about issues related to the poor functioning and dismal quality of education in Mumbai’s Municipal (Inner city) Schools. Our public schools face such neglect, despite the extraordinary budgets sanctioned every year for primary education. I have also explained to many people why and how citizens’ participation is extremely important to make a difference.

I feel deeply involved and concerned to ensure better functioning of schools and improving their quality of education. This is probably reflected in my interactions with individuals, citizens groups, activists, government authorities  etc. Such interactions and planned interventions will ultimately help in improving the accountability, functioning and the quality of education in our municipal schools

 I am grateful to all the people who listened to me patiently, encouraged me, and guided me on how to tackle the various seemingly intractable issues in the MCGM. Few of them believed in me completely and decided to hold hands and walk together with me in what has been an unbelievable and most satisfying journey so far.

Our FIRST Anniversary 

To be honest, the last few years of my journey has been truly amazing and the satisfaction I get while meeting and discussing how like-minded citizens can  work together with the concerned authorities to help improve the system (improve it rather than create parallel systems) cannot be described in words, thinking about it makes me extremely emotional.

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I know, we have taken only the first few steps and there is a long way to go, but I feel very positive and committed towards the cause and with the support of my Co-Directors Vidya Vaidya and Deepak Wadhwani,  and Dr.Richa Singh our Projects & Branding Head, who have been a pillar of strength and support, as well as the good wishes and guidance  of our Advisory Board CACR has now entered a ONE WAY road. 

The road towards spreading the word, getting people sensitized and involving them in making a  difference towards this most important cause of ensuring free, compulsory and quality education in municipal schools. Education is the only sustainable way out of the abject poverty many of our disadvantaged citizens face day in and day out.

Of course,  being the Founder Director of a NGO has increased my responsibilities and commitment to the cause but I have to once again thank every member in CACR, since it only due to their support and good wishes that things are moving forward, slowly and steadily, taking the system along in a positive and bright direction.

So much more to learn, much more to do....

Like the title of the talk show points out a very surprising yet true fact - LIFE MEIN KUCH BHI HO SAKTA HAI...(Anything can be achieved in life if you so wish)

~Nitin Wadhwani
Founder-Director
Citizens Association for Child Rights CACR

This is the fourth article in the series of volunteer journey's with CACR on our first anniversary
The previous article can be read HERE