By Mohd. Faheem Khan | Associate Director- USF
BACKGROUND
Udayan Shalini Fellowship programme of Udayan Care is a unique academic excellence and personality development programme for deserving and talented girls from weak socio-economic background aiming to turn them into empowered and dignified women or Shalinis. It is unique because it goes beyond being a usual scholarship programme by not only supporting higher education but also providing regular mentoring and leadership development and inculcating a sense of social responsibility in them.
SUMMARY
The past few months have brought an unprecedented change in the lives of millions of people, the effects of COVID 19 were unforeseen, and the measures to combat it also had to be exceptional. Lives were affected overnight with the lockdown, livelihoods were lost, schools closed and everything converted into online mode, but USF strived hard to become the support group for all our Shalinis and their families, helping them to tide over this phase.
The last 3 months spanning from November to January, were the months of festivals bringing families closer and hopes and wishes for a healthy, safe and prosperous future for all. USF teams were again at the forefront supporting Shalinis in all their endeavors, we also continued with our practice of assessment of Shalinis according to their needs and they were supported either financially or were provided with basic essentials to sustain themselves.
USF teams conducted the entire Selection Process in the last quarter despite various hurdles due to the pandemic, the teams went to great lengths to ensure that the most deserving students are selected. The entire USF family including our conveners, core committee members, alumnae, Shalinis and volunteers have played an instrumental role in organizing and conducting the selection process impeccably. We are also fortunate to have such great donors who have supported us during this phase, enabling us to get onboard at least 900 girls across 21 chapters.
Initiatives were also taken to bridge the digital divide and smartphones were distributed to Shalinis as part of technological support by Udayan Care, Shalinis also adapted to the new technologies quickly giving us an opportunity to conduct workshops and sessions on varied topics to enhance their skills, make them ready for the professional world, and also ensure their mental wellbeing.
Spanning from November to January our Shalinis had the privilege of attending sessions conducted by experts from diverse fields, we conducted 8 employability workshops on the topics Teamwork, Interview Skills, and Emotional Intelligence and various small workshops and sessions were also conducted on topics like Mindful Media Training to keep our Shalinis motivated and positive. It has been a sheer blessing to have support from partners like Ernst & Young, Genpact India, Bhaskar, and Dimple who have helped us keep our Shalinis encouraged through regular mentoring and positivity. As an initiative to keep our Shalinis engaged we also conducted various other activities like urging them to be creative and make beautiful rangolis and art on Diwali and Christmas to keep them away from the effects of the outside world.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
NOVEMBER 2020
ORIENTATION CEREMONY | BATCH 19
The first chapter of Udayan Shalini Fellowship, North Delhi conducted the Orientation Ceremony for its 19th Batch on 27th November 2020, welcoming 60 bright Shalinis into the fellowship. The Orientation started with a small video about USF and Faheem giving a brief introduction about the fellowship and how Shalinis can benefit from it.
A presentation depicting the USF objectives, commitments, and expectations from Shalinis and their parents was also presented by Ashish. Devyani, one of our North Delhi alumnae, and Anjali, our existing Shalini also shared their journey with the new batch to inspire and motivate them. Harishankar shared information about the computer courses offered by Udayan Care at subsidized fees to enhance the technical skills of today’s youth.
The ceremony concluded with Shalinis excited and all ready for their new journey.
TEAMWORK SESSION | 29TH NOVEMBER BY KUNAL
A session on Teamwork was organized for the 2nd year Shalinis on 29th November, 2020. The session was facilitated by Kunal and was attended by 35-40Shalinis.
The objective of this session was to help Shalinis understand the importance of teamwork.
The session was extremely fruitful for the Shalnis and will help them in their professional and personal life ahead.
WORKPLACE BIASNESS | 29th NOVEMBER | BATCH 17 BY BHASKAR
A session on Workplace Biasness was organized for Batch 17 on 29th November 2020. The session was conducted by Bhaskar and was conducted in a very interesting manner with role-plays as well. The workshop aimed to:
A fun exercise was also conducted by Bhaskar, where he told Shalinis to differentiate the way they will ask for permission to go out from a brother and from a sister. We all witnessed some true revelations about our own relationship with our brothers and sisters. The exercise was helpful in explaining the topic more nicely.
INTERVIEW SKILLS | 29TH NOVEMBER BY STEVE
A session on Interview Skills was conducted by Steve for 3rd year Shalinis (Batch 15), who are gearing up to join the workforce and will soon be looking for jobs and giving interviews. The topic was extremely important for them.
Shalinis were given tips on how they should prepare for an interview and what do’s and don’ts they should follow. Different types of questions that can be asked were also shared:
The session was very knowledgeable and useful for the Shalinis as it will help them prepare for the future and get a good job.
DECEMBER 2020
INDUCTION CEREMONY | BATCH 19
North Delhi conducted virtual Induction for its 19th batch of 60 Shalinis on 15th December 2020.
The ceremony saw the presence of many distinguished guests which included Kiran, Aneesha, Arun, Faheem, Jain, Ashish, Mishra, Awadhesh, Bharti, and our Chief Guest Seema.
The entire ceremony was moderated by Dipti (Alumna) and we witnessed all the guests speak about the initiative that they started back in 2002 and where it has reached today, and still has a long way to go. One of our Shalinis, Priya also shared her experience with USF and how it has made her more confident. Our chief guest Seema said that she has always been in awe of our Shalinis, the way they have overcome hurdles in their life and the desire in them to achieve something and be independent cannot be expressed in words.
A short film on the past 1year journey of the North Delhi chapter was also shown and the ceremony concluded with a Vote of Thanks and the National Anthem.
THE MINDFUL MEDIA TRAINING | 19TH DECEMBER BY DIMPLE
A session on Mindful Media Training was organized for all college-going Shalinis (1st – 3rd Year) on 19th December 2020. The session was facilitated by Dimple. The need for such sessions was felt because of increased usage of devices and high exposure to social media during the Covid-19 pandemic. The session was very informative and useful for the Shalinis. Various topics were shared and discussed which included Information on Media, Critical Thinking, Decision making, and Tools to fact check and debunk false news.
The session was extremely useful for the Shalinis and helped them to learn to differentiate between right and wrong of social media.
GOAL SETTING, VISION & PLANNING | 20TH DECEMBER BY BHASKAR
A session on Goal Setting, Vision & Planning was organized for the new 19th batch of Shalinis on 20th December 2020. The session was facilitated by Bhaskar and was attended by 50-55 Shalinis.
The session was stressed on the importance of planning to achieve desired goals. Various points were shared and elaborated during the session:
The session helped our new Shalinis to understand the importance of planning, and only if they are disciplined and work hard, they will be able to achieve their goals
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE | 20TH DECEMBER | BATCH 18 BY SANGEETA
A session on Emotional Intelligence was conducted by Sangeeta for Batch 18 on 20th December 2020. The workshop explained different kinds of Positive and Negative Emotions and the difference between:
Emotional Awareness: knowing and understanding the feelings that are present in oneself and others
Emotional Intelligence: Manage the emotions according to the environment
The workshop was emphasized on the need to be emotionally intelligent, as it helps us to be in:
Shalinis thoroughly enjoyed this session and learnt that an Emotionally Intelligent individual is able to handle situations in a better way.
JANUARY 2021
PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT | 17TH JANUARY BATCH 17 BY ANURAG
A session on Personal Finance Management was organized for Batch 17 of Shalinis on 17th January 2021. The session was facilitated by Anurag and was attended by 50-55 Shalinis. The session was stressed on the importance of saving and why it is important. Various points were shared and elaborated during the session:
The session helped our new Shalinis to understand the importance of saving, and how they should manage their earnings. It was a very useful and informative session for the Shalinis.
PROBLEM-SOLVING AND CONFLICT MANAGEMENT | 17TH JANUARY BATCH 16 BY RAJNISH
A session on Problem Solving & Conflict Management was conducted by Rajnish for Batch 16 on 17th January, 2021. The workshop was aimed to explain Shalinis that what is a problem, how to recognize it and resolve it.
Rajnish stated that Problem-solving is the process of identifying a problem, arriving at possible solutions, and taking the appropriate course of action.
The workshop was emphasized on:
Shalinis thoroughly enjoyed this session and learnt how to recognize a problem and solve it with the right technique. The learning’s of this workshop will be helpful for the Shalinis in the future as well.
ADAPTABILITY AND LEARNING | 17TH JANUARY | BATCH 15 BY REET
A workshop for Batch 15 (3rd year college students) was conducted on 17th January 2021 on the topic Adaptability and Learning. The workshop aimed to explain Shalinis that change is necessary and it is important to adapt to changes in life.
The objectives of the workshop were:
It was also discussed that why we do not adapt and what are the ways through which we should adapt to changes. The workshop also stressed that adaptability is a very important trait in the professional world, to keep ready for any new change or challenge.
TECHNOLOGICAL SUPPORT
Due to the lockdown and sudden conversion to online education mode, many of our Shalinis were lagging behind due to no access to a digital device or internet. Udayan Care believes that there should be no digital divide as it puts a student in a disadvantaged position to someone who has access to these technologies.
Udayan Care and USF are trying to bridge this digital divide and smartphones have been distributed to many Shalinis on the basis of 2 Digital Surveys conducted by USF to assess the need and prioritize those Shalinis who had no access at all to a smartphone.
Spanning from November – January, 15 Shalinis were given smartphones so that there are no hurdles in their studies.
Their joy had no limits when they got the phone and were extremely thankful to Udayan Care and USF.
SUCCESS STORY
Shraddha, North Delhi
Shraddha always wanted to be a doctor, and this year in 2020 she cleared her NEET exam and has secured admission in Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi. She belongs to a middle-class family and her parents are not very educated but they wanted their daughter to study and achieve all that she deserves.
Udayan Shalini Fellowship gave her the platform to learn various things through a number of workshops and also inculcated in her the feeling of Giving Back to Society. She is a very hardworking student and has scored 84.2% in her 12th board exams, she dropped twice to clear the NEET exam, studied almost 12hrs a day, concentrated on her weak points, and was consistent throughout, even when the exam was postponed again and again.
Shraddha said that she is thankful to USF for always supporting and encouraging her.
Her advice to other students, “Be Consistent and Don’t Give Up. A lot of factors contribute towards her studies, keep yourself motivated, and work hard towards your dreams.”
Indira, North Delhi
Indira belongs to a middle-class family where her parents always supported her to study and work hard to realize her dreams. She has done DMLT (Diploma in Medical Laboratory Technology) and is currently in her final year of B.Sc (Life Science) from IGNOU.
She is a focused person and works hard to achieve her dreams. She is currently working as Lab Technician (Contractual) in Northern Railway Divisional Hospital and earning Rs. 21,700/- per month and is also preparing for government exams simultaneously.
She says, “To achieve my goals USF fellowship programme motivated me a lot. All workshops which I have attended during my fellowship period was so useful in my daily life to improve my life skills as well as for my career.”
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
