We recently caught up with Geetha Salimath, Programme Lead at CMCA Hubballi-Dharwad, to chat about her journey with CMCA. Read on to hear what Geetha has to say!
When did you join CMCA?
It was 2006 when I joined CMCA’s Hubballi-Dharwad as its first Programme Coordinator. Before CMCA, I used to work for private training institutes; I didn’t even know what an NGO was! The past 15 years have been such a great learning experience for me.
Do you feel being with CMCA has changed you?
Absolutely. Especially in the beginning, every time I visited a school, I would hear umpteen stories of young people taking action to solve issues in their communities, or “Acts of Active Citizenship” as we call them at CMCA. The actions taken by our students inspired me. I would say to myself, “If they can, why can’t I?”. So I started taking small initiatives, like segregating waste at home, following traffic rules more strictly, or having civic amenities fixed. When my family and neighbours asked me how I did it, I replied, “Everything is possible if we stop being part of the problem and start being part of the solution”. This was the first lesson I learnt from CMCA.
CMCA also made me more confident. I still remember an incident, when I stood up to a Contractor who complained that I kept following up with him and the local corporation until he covered an open manhole near our office. I remember telling him, “I will never stop complaining as long as such issues are not solved!”. I was not like this before CMCA.
Apart from this, CMCA taught me to think critically and to be more empathetic towards others.
Tell us more.
During COVID’s first wave, the CMCA staff was given the option to participate in the “Pad Peti for Every Beti” campaign by Pad Squad, to provide sanitary pads to those in need during the lockdown. I jumped at the opportunity and collected over 2,500 sanitary pads for an NGO working with disabled women. I was also given a chance to do my bit in the fight against the pandemic and got involved with contact tracing of COVID patients. Talking to the patients and helping them gave me immense happiness.
I owe it to CMCA for changing my attitude and transforming me into a more positive person. Here’s wishing more power to CMCA and all associated with it!
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CMCA has been accredited by Credibility Alliance under the category “Desirability Norms” – for good governance, accountability, transparency and continuous improvements. Credibility Alliance is a consortium of voluntary organisations committed to enhancing accountability and transparency in the voluntary sector through good governance.
