Hi all,To the seniors, people of my cohort and those, I had an opportunity to say “Welcome to NRO”, I had a great time with you all! I had the opportunity to work with most of you and I truly cherish those. A few years back when I joined NRO, right after the masters I was an educated illiterate. I was fortunate to just sway along with some incredibly smart people and get things done along the way with them! Assam and Tamilnadu are the two states I had the fortune to engage with. Grateful that in both the states, I got ample amount of time to work. In Assam, I was part of the fourth phase, from the beginning till the completion. I’m a little upset that I couldn’t do the same in Phase 1 of Tamilnadu! Two months away from the final lap! I feel guilty and unjust about my act. If I had an option to delay this transition for two months, I would have done that!I’m proud that NRO happened in my life. There is no other organisation in this country to have a system of operation like we have! A team that is, “Mentor + Professional”. Among them, the USP of NRO is our mentors, I would say. I sometimes feel that we, the professionals including me, with no experience or few months or years of experience gathered in this organisation to phrase things our mentors are doing at the last mile, in the templates that the people at AC rooms want! I acknowledge the learning and clarity I’ve been able to gain about grassroots through our mentors while working with them. Their capacity to come up with interventions that could address societal needs in a short span of time is something that adds a lot of value and mileage to the project as a whole. The negotiation they do, the team management they do with stakeholders of varied capacities on such a scale, especially in universalisation is an incredible job. Reflecting on my time here, what difference did NRO made in me? I don’t know exactly how to phrase an answer to it. I guess “awareness” to many things. Also, from day one, I learned to unlearn things. I was a student here 90% of the time. I truly enjoyed the responsibilities entrusted to me. I was schooled, criticised, appreciated, guided, listened to, acknowledged, and trusted. Above all, I felt genuinely valued.I’m grateful for this beautiful chapter! Bid adieu to my dear fellow humans of Kudumbashree NRO!All the best!Warmly,Akhil Clal