Project Execution

The idea of publishing this project on Tata ProEngage sprouted from fulfilling the long plan of construction of an old age home. “Our idea was to transform it into a knowledge sharing center. We wanted to make it specifically this way, so that more old age people who come with varied knowledge can join and share their vision to the younger generation. Hence came up the idea of a project proposal and it is definitely better when seen with a professional approach” said Mr. Varadarajan when asked to evaluate the project need.

Mr. Varadarajan was visibly excited when he mentioned “the moment I heard it's a Tata program, I had great expectations. Their work quality and values possessed are undoubtedly the best in the nation. The team that Tata has built is the essence that prompted me to jump into the thing.”

The NGO had two proposal writing projects at the same time under the same lines and hence decided to combine both the projects. The volunteers connected with Mr. Varadarajan and he mentioned that they began by asking for the requirements of the project which he thought was a fantastic move from the team. Respective inputs and his ideologies were given to the volunteers. The expectations were clearly lined out which were understood well by the volunteers which resulted from great coordination, said the project coordinator. As Mr. Varadarajan also hails from an engineering background, the first meeting ended with satisfaction that the volunteers were a perfect match for him as well.

Highlighting the first impression Meena had when she began working on this project, Meena said “Since this was my first project, I was not sure how to establish the connection with the NGO. On the contrary, from day one of our interaction with the NGO, there was never a disconnect. The rhythm of our discussion evolved and we began to understand the requirements effortlessly.” The exceptional organisational skills of Mr. Varadarajan helped the volunteers greatly in contributing to the project to the best of their abilities. Meena thought the plan in itself was a very systematic approach. They followed with a clear plan of action chalked out by the NGO, with target timelines for closure and respective responsibilities assigned. “We connected weekly with the NGO and shared the progress and also took inputs to ensure we have not missed out on any details. There were exchanges of ideas, thoughts, discussions on what would be the best approach to go about”, shared Meena.

Speaking about the NGO, Surendhar said that he felt this NGO was dealing with bigger projects compared to the NGO he had worked with in the previous ProEngage cycle. He said the whole experience was refined and made better as Mr. Varadarajan had an extremely vast experience. What stood out for him is that the entire process was very well organised. He felt like there was learning from both sides as Varadarajan continually guided them with his industrial exposure. “I had experience from the last project so I knew where I was lacking as a volunteer. In the previous project, we had exceeded our project time greatly due to poor planning. My co-volunteers were great at planning. Using that experience, we could complete this at a structured timeframe”, added Surendhar.

Challenges faced

The uncompromising discipline and very well planned structure of the project didn’t leave much room for any notable challenges to arise for the volunteers. There were definitely a few, as anywhere but mostly personal. Although Varadarajan stuck to his schedules, Surendhar being a service engineer, missed a few meetings as he is expected to be available on call even on weekends. Similarly, other volunteers also couldn't make sometimes due to personal commitments, but the void was filled with the help of the exceptional cooperation that was maintained by everyone.

Surendhar was asked about the biggest motivation factor that kept him going through this long project and he shared “After completion of my last project, I had immense personal satisfaction. I felt like contributing more. There are many people who can share materialistically so I wanted to take a different approach and contribute through my skill.”

Likewise, Meena shared “The connect with the NGO, the collaboration with my fellow co-volunteers  and most importantly the noble cause we were working toward were my biggest motivation factors.”