ms2r2r

Okay so I know this might be a trifle self-serving , but since i have an immense readership of like 3 people (you guys know who you are, but for the record, Cins, Jules and Rosh!) I thought I might post up the following since y'all don't know that much about my work and thought I would spread the gospel a little. (The following is an extract: basically Morgan Stanley, my ex-firm tracked me down and wanted to do a feature story on my work on the Alumni website (sadly, or fortunately, you need to be alumni to actually see the story!). So here I am, talking about my NGO and development! So that this blog remains off-radar, I have used R2R for what my NGO actually is).


What inspired you to become involved with R2R?

R2R's particular brand of passion, energy and dynamism in solving the educational problems of developing countries attracted me initially, especially its management team which then consisted of John Wood and Erin Ganju. Their method of working through challenge grants where communities work to invest in their own schools and libraries (by providing labour, materials, land etc) ensured a sustainable development approach by empowering local communities and giving them ownership of these resources. The low overhead ratio of less than 10% (meaning that more than 90 cents of every dollar go directly to targeted beneficiaries) also pointed to the rare NGO that was more focused on achieving development goals, rather than development rhetoric.
The flexible, efficient and non-bureaucratic modus operandi was also particularly attractive, as it replicated the environment at Morgan Stanley, where the focus was on getting stuff done .

How long have you been working for the organization, and what are your responsibilities in your current role?

I have been working for about a year with R2R Sri Lanka. As Country Director, I head up the Sri Lanka office and am in charge of all in-country program strategy and execution, focusing on school construction, library establishment, girls' scholarships, and children's fiction publishing in the local language across the southern and northeastern areas. In 2005 we focused on tsunami reconstruction and rehabilitation, and attempted to work fairly across both ethnic communities. In 2006, we will be continuing our work across the tsunami belt and also expanding into the interior tea plantation areas which have been historically neglected as well as the border villages between the government controlled areas and the rebel-controlled areas, which typically, also has been neglected. The escalating political situation and increasing armed violence has all of us tense, but we remain hopeful that aid agencies will continue to be able to operate without significant hindrances.

Can you share a specific story or two that would illustrate the impact Room to Read's school-rebuilding project has made in Sri Lanka?


Working in development can be at times extremely dispiriting and frustrating. The bureaucratic hurdles, lack of political will to implement policy change from the top, corruption, civil war can all act to seem overwhelming at times. Yet, the opportunity to interact with war victims, tsunami victims or abused individuals can provide the glimpse into why aid is important, why it gets it right more times than it gets it wrong, and how we all have a responsibility, as members of the developed world, and as of humanity, to give and receive humanitarian assistance whenever possible.

We get this grassroots experience every day as part of R2R. In Sri Lanka, we have built 39 preschools in 2005, through the cooperation of local communities. The preschools have provided an important start to early education and restored normalcy to many children's lives that have been affected by the tsunami. A semi-structured learning approach has given them the chance to focus on the road ahead and not the losses behind.

The training that we provide to the teachers provides these young women with a sense of achievement, of knowledge which they pass onto the next generation. By educating children, we are focusing on the age-group with the most potential for change, and therefore with the most potential for hope. By integrating training and workshops across the island, we have begun to build bridges across hitherto mutually isolated communities. Our work has sown the seeds of a peacebuilding dialogue at the grassroots level, and as such, both the goals of development and human security are attempted to be achieved.

We strive to set this tone of nonalignment and impartiality and fairness in all our work across this extremely divided island. With an all-local, diverse staff, we are able to cross cultures and be accepted in villages and communities of all ethnic and religious denominations. In addition, the incredible goodwill shown to us by the villages and schools and their unceasing work in the face of so much lack, has ultimately made our work possible.


When did your tenure with the company begin/end? Which office(s) did you work in? What was your position, and within what business group did you work? Also, is there anything in particular that you learned while working at Morgan Stanley that has helped you succeed in your new position?


I started as an Analyst at the Credit Department in London in June 2002, shortly after graduating from the London School of Economics with a Bsc in Government and Economics. I was chiefly assigned to working within the Commodities section in the Credit Department and got to interact with a very wide range of clients, internal groups and colleagues. The professionalism of colleagues, their eagerness to teach new analysts the ropes, and the positive attitudes to teamwork and achievements really helped me to hit the ground running at Room to Read. Particularly, my excellent mentor was the best example of how to run a team and achieve results exceeding expectations while always remaining gracious under pressure!