OUR PILLAR OF SUPPORT MS. CHANDRA VISWANATHAN

                                            

During peak winter, we moved into a standalone home where the garden was covered with snow while the lake was frozen with no life around me, I was wondering how to utilize my quiet time in the month of January in US. I had been an active tutor always looking for opportunities to share my knowledge. That’s when I noted the call for virtual volunteering on the social media platform. I connected with Ms. Chandra Viswanathan instantly as if we had known for ages. She is a friendly person to approach and was approachable to clarify doubts on the recording process. She hails from Tamil Nadu moved to the US in 1998 accompanying her spouse to begin a new life in the country of opportunities. She was a postgraduate from the University of Madras, she completed her masters in the US and successfully started her career as a Business analyst. She was balancing her family and works successfully but she wanted to extend a helping hand to support the underprivileged in society. She was introduced to Lit the Light group through another volunteer in 2012. She initially joined as a fundraiser, proposal writer in English and she started involving in activities like book reading, a compilation of voice recording, and coordinating donations from US. She says she was impressed by the involvement of youngsters in the Lit the light team and their interest in social activities particularly supporting the visually challenged all over India through a novel idea of involving volunteers across different time zones. She utilized her administrative skills to organize communication through emails, connecting volunteers across the world, and maintain records of work through conference calls. She empathized with the need for support systems to establish an institution for a noble cause. She was able to provide guidance through instructions for various activities conducted by Lit the group for the betterment of visually challenged students in schools and Universities. 

Currently, she is a multi-tasker in the group as her activities involve receiving study material through mails from the volunteer coordinator in India, distribute information among volunteers and compile the voice recordings and send it to the library for further assistance to the visually challenged. As a voice recording volunteer, I appreciate the effort taken to compile different voices from volunteers living across the world and the freedom to serve from home.  Fortunately, her counterpart from Bahrain Ms. Bhagirathi was in the same frequency as Chandra, hence it was a combined effort to support the millions of students who were dependent on the prerecorded audiobooks to achieve their desire to learn in spite of the challenges due to partial eyesight or no sight. Ms. Chandra initiated the idea of recording in English and explaining the content in Tamil that enabled the students to understand the nuances of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Leo Tolstoy in a simple language. She recalls her initial days when students were totally dependent to explain line by line information which slowly turned to paragraph explanation and now its end of the page in Tamil. The collection of audiobooks in English with Tamil explanations is quite popular among the students as it enables them to comprehend the idea and express it in their own words to the scribe who supports them to write the examination.  Ms. Chandra has also encouraged the idea of promoting talent and she involved in events organized by Lit the light to expose talent exhibited by visually challenged students.

At the age of 45, it’s amazing to note the dedication, commitment, diligence, enthusiasm, zeal, wholeheartedness to extend support to the team of youngsters to build the nation. She is an inspiration to youngsters in the team and a role model for volunteers who wish to involve in social activities. Some prominent traits that we admire in Ms. Chandra are here for your purview 

• Effectively present ideas, views, and opinions to others and communicate efficiently.

• Engage interact with youngsters and involve them in activities.

• Develop a passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to supporting the journey towards a social cause.

• Work as a team to solve problems and come up with new ideas.

• Train to develop key skills for life and work.

• Create an opportunity to make a difference in youth unemployment.

• Engage in a platform to have a voice, build your profile as an ambassador.

• Extend personal support and guidance in your journey.

•  Register evidence of volunteering activity. 

• An opportunity to be connected to a wide network of employers, government staff, and other key organizations.

• A personal reference when you need it.

• Rebuilding society through social activities.

Author

– MS Nithya Vasu