This is a guest blog by RWSN mentee Gaurav Thapak and RWSN mentor Pallavi Bharadwaj, who are currently enrolled in the 2021 RWSN Mentoring Programme .
Mentee’s Thoughts
I am an architect and urban planner with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), New Delhi, India. I work extensively in the urban areas on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services as one of my main focus areas. My postgraduate thesis was also focussed on water supply and its economics in an urban area. Earlier this year, I discovered the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN). A few months after I joined RWSN their mentorship programme was launched. I signed up for this programme in anticipation of growing by learning from an expert. I wish to develop a career in water economics and governance, and anticipated that this mentorship programme would be a great opportunity to steer myself in the right direction.
I envisioned what I sought for myself out of this programme and stated in my application that I would like to work with a mentor, who could broaden my horizons in water supply and management in rural and urban areas. Ms. Pallavi Bharadwaj accepted my mentorship proposal. Pallavi lives and works in the United States of America, and has over a decade and half years of experience working in the global WASH sector. I was extremely glad to be accepted for the mentorship and consider myself fortunate to have Pallavi as my mentor.
We scheduled our first meeting close to the deadline of mentorship agreement submission. It was a short introductory meeting for about half an hour. Despite the time zones difference, I was excited to meet with her. I had not set forth clear goals and outcomes of my mentorship arrangement. However, through our discussion, Pallavi understood where I was in my career and what I sought. She helped me identify my learning goals. We started out by setting three broad goals for me:
- pursue a Ph.D in water governance and policy,
- engage with social sector in water and wastewater sector,
- a particular case development and exploration of how gamification can help nudge and model consumer behaviour.
We agreed that a monthly video meeting for an hour or so would work to touch base and evaluate my progress.
As I write this blog post, it has been over two months since the mentorship began. We have already met three times along with having numerous conversations on email, phone and social media. I regularly reach out on email and LinkedIn to seek suggestions and share ideas for various projects and competitions. Pallavi has always been kind and prompt to provide her inputs, comments and resources to facilitate my work, even if that might not have been a part of my original learning goals. Since we are now connected on LinkedIn, Pallavi often shares content to aid my professional development, suggests interesting events and talks to attend, shares job opportunities and connects me to her network. She has already facilitated an introduction with a student in Mumbai to further foster and develop collaborations for my professional growth.
My mentorship’s scope has extended above and beyond what my mentor and I had originally agreed upon. I am glad that Pallavi is available to answer my questions and shares interesting as well as thought provoking content with me on an ongoing basis. I find it easier to connect and collaborate with people, whom I am comfortable to have a dialogue with. Through our conversations Pallavi has made it easier for me to discuss ideas and concepts that are new and nascent for me in a clear and professional way.
I recommend every young professional in this sector, who has any doubts or confusion and wants to explore beyond their horizons, to sign up for this mentorship programme. I am very grateful to have Pallavi as my mentor, and thank RWSN for initiating this relationship.
Mentor’s Thoughts:
I have been part of RWSN’s mentorship program for two years now. Gaurav was the second mentee that reached out to me for working together and I agreed to be his mentor in 2021.
Through this relationship, I am not only sharing my knowledge, but also global experience as a WASH professional. In return, Gaurav is helping me learn even more about current trends in WASH management systems and challenges facing the underserved communities. I appreciate his ideas on utilizing the power of technology, such as gamification, for solving challenges in real time. For the remainder of this mentorship we will work together to connect his work to policy and advocacy, in light of United Nations Sustainable Goal 6 (SDG6), clean water and sanitation for all. It is my hope that through this mentoring relationship, Gaurav and I will be able to utilize our time working towards providing solutions for in-need communities.
About the RWSN Mentoring Programme
For more information on the RWSN Mentoring Programme, please see here. RWSN is grateful to the SENSE Foundation for its support of the mentoring programme in 2021.
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