She strongly advises against the word ‘mental’ while talking about the struggles of the mind – because she believes that ‘how’ we say something matters as much to ‘what’ we say. Let’s take a walk with someone who has proven, and inspired, the same passion about the ‘how’ for a lot of issues enveloping the society and the Youth. It’s a stroll down the memory lane of Sleepwell Foundation’s journey as well as towards the big turn from where the future roadmap gets stronger and stronger. Excerpts from a delightful chat with the mellifluous voice and metallic grit of Namita Gautam.
ASMR is in the air. At least, in the digital air. Whether you are watching rain falling on leaves, or a kid opening a toy-box or an artist showcasing the beautiful dance of dominos arranged in meticulous designs – the sheer ‘wow’ sensation is worth every indulgent minute spent here. But when it comes to the dominos falling in a fluid ballet, don’t you sometimes wonder which domino matters the most- the first one or the last one? Or is it the case of ‘each one’? The magical and surreal balance of the first domino and the last mile is what this veteran is specially known for. She is qualified in Corporate Law, but Namita Gautam also packs a wide experience in domains like Human Resources, Training & Development, Project Management, Communication, Marketing & Brand Building. She is a Director of ‘Sheela’ Group of Companies since 1984 and was also the National President of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) (2004-05). Currently an active member of the Governing Body & Past Presidents Council of FLO and Executive Committee Member of SAARC Countries Women Entrepreneurs Council (SCWEC), India, Namita Gautam is passionately working towards creating the right and positive spill-overs in society.
She spares no rigour on the first domino but has an eagle eye on how the last one gets affected. Let’s see how this super-power works when one is fighting against deep-rooted evils like stigma, illiteracy and unemployment.
Your foundation is remarkably unique in the choice of a variety of causes it works on – from skill development to awareness on school-bullying to army-coaching to emotional wellness – what a range of issues. When did it all begin? And is there a formula or filter to how you choose the issues worth focusing on?
I will answer the second question first. No, there is no rigid parameter. But we are very careful about making an on-ground impact to anything we work on. We do not believe in just contributing funds or supporting NGOs with no sense of the ground reality. We are very hands-on in how we create change.
It all started much before CSR was a buzzword in India. We registered the Foundation in 2001. We dedicated some money and invested it so that we could take care of some issues that were already close to our heart. Incidentally, I had already been at the helm of HR in the company. So skilling was a natural frontier that called strongly to me. The aspect of emotional wellness resonated very strongly with us. Maybe because it has direct and indirect connection to sleep-quality as well. We got the opportunity to get connected to an organization that was working on basic counseling. When I joined FICCI FLO, we got to know about a foreign organization that was working on skilling. The interest grew as we started doing, and expanding, these activities. In 2009, we got to know about the government emphasis on PPP model and we adopted Jijabai ITI for women at Srifort, New Delhi. I also like the start-up environment and challenges that this work gave me.
Tying back to the hands-on approach I mentioned, we also dedicated some part of our land in Khurja for Skill Development Centre especially for girls. Most of the girls living in the area belong to conservative families and are not allowed to have a lot of education or work opportunities; but these people do not mind work-from-home models. We worked on Computer Basics and English literacy in the initial years because they have a direct impact on the job aspect for these teenagers and young people. Now we do a lot of advanced courses also. We also initiated the Col. Gautam Academy for Armed Forces. The Academy provides both Physical as well as Classroom training along with all the necessary information and support required for recruitment in ARMED FORCES AND OTHER ALLIED SERVICES.
That’s new and interesting.
Yes, in fact, a survey has hinted that the Army prefers recruiting youth from rural areas because they are physically and emotionally stronger than their urban counterparts, thanks to the rural lifestyle which limits access to a lot of non-healthy choices like junk food, etc. They are also used to long distance trek, agricultural labour and more physical work; and are, hence, more healthy for these challenges. I am so happy to see that now a lot of girls are also joining in. In the first three years itself, about 29 people were recruited.
So most of your work translates into actual job impact for these people?
That’s what the intent is. For instance, we have a Master-G program where we collaborated with a New York entrepreneur and design expert. This initiative trains young people on the A to Z of fabric-design. We are now training people for possible jobs in logistics, hospitality and service because an airport is coming up nearby.
Tell us something about Emotional Wellness – it has become a serious topic now but you have embraced it early on?
The program that we do with Sanjivini was a step in this direction. I strongly feel that any such endeavour has to be a proactive emotional wellness effort. We conduct various workshops like gender sensitization, good-touch-bad-touch education, menstruation awareness, awareness on domestic violence and alcoholism, support on school bullying issues, help in fighting examination stress issues etc. It has to be proactive and simple. We have accelerated the area of ‘Emotional wellness’ for young people with programs like ‘Raahat’ and social media activities in the recent days. We have, since 2020, reached almost 18.7 million people through these efforts with total engagement for 7.2 million
Has the lockdown helped or slowed down the trajectory?
Initially it was a difficult situation. But now we have achieved a lot of localization and outreach by converting our efforts into new instruments. Like – local brochures and booklets, digital education, video conferencing, social media campaigns, online teachers’ training workshops and engaging videos with some YouTube experts. Some of the really well-appreciated ones are ‘Baatein Dil Ki’ series, and ‘Choti Seekh Badi Jeet’ videos (that cover conflict resolution, gender sensitisation, hygiene, time management and leadership). We are already working on more episodes and content. The social impact made by the Sleepwell Foundation in terms of on-ground activities is quite significant and encouraging. Beneficiaries for emotional wellness reached a number of 11, 535 , of pro-skill programs- around 6484, and indirect beneficiaries have been about 1,41,715 – and still counting
What is the biggest lesson or tool-kit that you swear by?
We may have limited resources compared to other NGOs but we make sure every penny, and every minute, spent here makes an impact in someone’s life. Quality is never compromised – no matter how small a step is.
Any advice for people who want to know more about emotional wellness?
The first one is more than enough if one takes it seriously – Be proactive. Do not wait for depression or any other issue to get out of hand. Do not use the word ‘mental’ in casual conversations, humour etc. It has a serious connotation. Advocacy is also important and here corporate, friends, peers and government can play a crucial part. Finally, talk, talk and talk. Do not hesitate to talk to someone – it can be just a teacher or a friend. This concern is a big one in India. Imagine we have just about 3500 counsellors in India but we actually need at least 75,000. This subject needs to be discussed and confronted with a lot of clarity and openness.
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