Giving

I consider myself blessed – to come this far in life and be provided in every form during my journey. My parents, especially, my mother led by example and showed me the meaning of giving through her actions. The way she helped less fortunate people get educated, provided for loans, food and shelter during times of need. Her appreciation of what we have is only temporary and we will leave everything we pass away.

I believe that giving back to the world is what makes you whole. Not money, or power, or fame or whom you know. When you give you find yourself more. When you give, you evolve personally. When you give you become a better person. During my career I have also had the opportunity to lead corporate social responsibility functions at various organizations. This gave me a first-hand understanding of the motivations and challenges that people and organizations have while giving.

In 2003 I had a bike accident and broke my arm – thankfully my helmet saved me. When I recovered I decided to give back my time and creative energy to educating people about safe driving and riding habits. Through consultations, events, workshops and campaigns the NGO I started, Friend For Life helped improve the understanding of basic road safety and injury prevention practices. The World Health Organization invited the NGO for a consultative discussion leading to World Health Day in 2004 that we collaboratively conducted in the city of Bengaluru. My philanthropy is that giving needs to be specific, direct, transparent and evidence-based to truly make a difference.

For me, giving also extends to the communication expertise that I share with the community, through my blog Intraskope (www.aniisu.com) that I post and the workshops and teaching/speaking opportunities which allows me to engage students, academia, and practitioners.

If you are keen to partner on giving initiatives please write to me at aniisu3@gmail.com