The Project

Abhivyakti Foundation launched a  "green skill development"  project in 2016 that ran till 2019 and they restarted this project again in 2020 that will continue till 2023. The project aims to help youth from rural backgrounds enhance their income and gain food and nutritional security by training them in agricultural and allied skills. The nonprofit saw potential in the green skill development sector and was doing its best to bring a change in the lives of rural communities, especially the youth. 

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Even though they had all the information and data needed to narrate the stories of the impact they were making, they needed someone to concise this data into a report to create one document as a  single point of reference. This way they could spread awareness about their cause and communicate to potential donors to continue their program. Thus, they posted this impact report project 

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The Journey

Once the volunteers received the communication that they will be working on this project, they were greeted with a very systematic orientation process and a guide to help their project progress. During their interactions, Himadri made sure to convey exactly what the nonprofit needed from the volunteers and the project as a whole. Shalini’s experience combined with Raghavendra’s knowledge made it very easy for them to grasp what they needed to do. 

The volunteers divided the work among themselves based on their schedules but made sure to be mindful of some key procedures such as keeping everyone in the loop on their progress, and discussing with each other the best way forward. The volunteers made it a point to be on the same page and resolve any discord they might have. This was one of the main reasons why their project progressed smoothly. 

A proposition from the volunteers was that they wanted to include case studies in the impact report. Being a remote form of volunteering, they requested Himadri to connect them with the beneficiaries virtually and he obliged. The volunteers took time out of their schedules to accommodate calls with the beneficiaries. Shalini also wanted to document the stories from the perspective of women. And she emphasized this point quite strongly in her communication and later in the impact report.

“As a team, it is our responsibility to take care of one another”, remarked Raghavendra. Shalini’s mother fell ill during the course of the project which was a tough time for Shalini. The bond that the team had formed helped them withstand this unforeseen circumstance and power through till the end. Shalini commented saying, “these two men were a great support. They were constantly checking in with me to see how I was doing and how my mother was doing. This meant so much to me and I didn’t want to leave my commitment. I would work from the hospital too, but I really wanted to see this project through to the end.”

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The Challenges Faced

There was mutual respect between all the members of the group and they valued each other’s time. Himadri made it a point to communicate to the volunteers his availability and they also made the necessary adjustments so they didn’t have any major roadblocks. However, the volunteers mentioned that they would have appreciated it if they could have a better way of authenticating the data they received from the nonprofit. 

From Himadri’s side, he had absolutely no challenges throughout the project and really appreciated the volunteer for being patient and understanding. 

The Result

This project gave Abhivyakti Foundation a very detailed report documenting their journey, and the impact generated all backed with real-time data and success stories. The nonprofit organization is planning on conducting a workshop in the month of September and they look forward to using this report at the event post which they will distribute this impact report to the concerned stakeholders. This report will be a valuable record to have for future reference and learning when developing new programs.