Sunday, January 31, 2016

Wendy Chan - Introductory Post

Namaste.

My name is Wendy Chan and you’ll be hearing from me over the next 6 months.

It is my first time to India and so far I’ve found Bangalore a vibrant, friendly and beautiful city.  I am looking forward to being immersed in the various different cultures, spices and contrasts and contradictions that is India. Above all I am really excited to be doing a 6 month internship here with AarogyaSeva as part of my 6 month IDEX Global Fellowship Program.   

The IDEX Global Fellows program is a 6 month curriculum filled with curated readings, professional development assignments and workshops, one on one mentoring and coaching as well as a placement in local organisation. IDEX’s mission is to create the next wave of individuals who will innovate, develop and promote solutions to social challenges within an existing enterprise or organisation. To find out more please head to: http://www.idexfellows.com/

There are 14 other fellows as part of my cohort at IDEX this year and they have been placed with a diverse range of organisations such as Ashoka, LabourNet, Wings and Shenomics. I’m hoping we can leverage off these networks for some mutually beneficial outcomes.  Last week we were given the opportunity to settle into our new city, get to know each other and hear from a diverse range of speakers.  One of the highlights was our visit to AMBA.

AMBA provides training to the intellectually challenged so that they can be employed to do back office data entry jobs. This brings life changing fulfillment and economic empowerment to the individuals and reduces the economic burden on their families.  Further to that, AMBA provides free training to organisations that would be keen to empower intellectually challenged in their local communities. To date they there are 105 AMBA partners spanning 17 states, impacting over 3,200 intellectually disabled adults and growing.  If you know of anyone with data entry work or would be keen to get in touch with AMBA let me know.  Otherwise to find out more please head over to their website: http://www.ambaforlife.org/

So a little about me, I’m originally from Hong Kong though as I grew up in Australia I do associate myself as an Aussie.  Still I think my Chinese heritage has deeply influenced my perspective. I was most recently working in Banking where I helped managed a portfolio of both small enterprises and large multinational corporates customers from a diverse range of industries including but not limited to retirement and aged care operators, car dealerships, label manufacturers and property investors.  Prior to that I was previously a pharmacist and so have an understanding of the dynamics and challenges of providing healthcare to the community.  

During my time at AarogyaSeva I’m looking to increase brand awareness particularly via social media, grow the AarogyaSeva Student Chapter and help coordinate various other activities and initiatives.  I am looking forward to meeting the team and engaging with AarogyaSeva supporters.

We are open to suggestions, ideas and feedback so please feel free to drop us a line.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of AarogyaSeva and AarogyaSeva does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
To get in touch with the author or to join our team write to us at – Volunteer@aarogyaseva.org

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