Digital Didi Changing Mindsets, Practices and Narratives
On September 18, convening of the GOAL – Going Online As Leaders – programme was held in Bhubaneswar. The success of the programme was visible when the enthusiastic Mentees participated in the event by addressing the crowd – something that they had not indulged in before. GOAL is a mentorship programme empowering young women from rural and tribal regions in India to become leaders of tomorrow. Under this initiative, successful urban women leader, who hold expertise in their respective domains—from business, education and health to politics, arts and entrepreneurship —inspire, guide and encourage young women to gain confidence and build aspirations.
Initially the Mentees were reserved and anxious before speaking on the microphone, but by the end of the event they were also showcasing their talents by dancing and singing. One of the Mentees shared, “I would have never imagined being this confident while addressing a group of strangers. I am feeling so excited that I could talk about myself in front of so many people.” During the round of introductions, Mentees also spoke of their Mentors.
Ranju Manjhi, an 18 year old Mentee from Barpali, Odisha, shared that her confidence has grown manifold because of her Mentor Diksha Lal. “I eagerly wait for the calls from my Diksha Ma’am. I look forward to these interactions a lot! In fact, Diksha ma’am has almost all solutions to every problem of mine.”
Diksha Lal is a practicing lawyer and entrepreneur and is the founder of Lawyer24x- a corporate advisory firm.
The same thought process was shared by other Mentees as well wherein they talked about how the GOAL programme has helped them understand technology and shed their fears about social media.
The Mentees now have active Facebook accounts that they use to upload photos but more importantly talk about the issues in their villages. In fact, they are also following pages of politicians to keep themselves updated about current issues.
The GOAL project aims to enhance and nurture these qualities in the budding change-makers so that they can become active leaders of tomorrow.
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