(Mr. Susumu Nagayama (PhD, MBA) was deputed to TBR (May to August 2023), from Chugai Pharmaceuticals in Japan as part of a corporate volunteer program with Cross Fields Japan. He is an accomplished team leader, working on oncology (cancer) solutions. This story and views are personal)
My research had shown me that there were many children suffering from under-nutrition in India despite the country being a rapidly growing economy. I was intrigued by this, and Cross Fields presented an opportunity to grow as a person, using my skills and experience to work on this social problem. I applied to volunteer with TBR for multiple reasons, namely that they provided both nutrition and education, that it was a small, elite team close to their Management, and it would provide me an ideal platform to formulate different strategies. Before flying out to Mumbai, India I interviewed their Management and learnt how they worked with passion for social upliftment, and valued co-workers like they were family which made me feel more that this was indeed the right team to partner with!
2024 marks TBR’s ten-year anniversary, and they have aspirational goals for 2030 which were a source of motivation for me. TBR wants to expand nutrition support to six States in India, double the number of partners in their food network, and build nutrition support for a million children and mothers. I visited several urban slum communities to better my understanding in the field and realised that the issue of proper nutrition is complex. Improper hygiene and under-nutrition give rise to higher rates of illnesses and increased medical expenses. I realised that TBR’s approach lay in preventative medicine of sorts where healthy food alongside the knowledge of low-cost recipes, proper hygiene practices and proper nutrition would help more vulnerable people and quicker. Expanding their program would lead to preventing so many problems!
With TBR’s support I worked on challenges of expansion, funding, and improving education services. I had a lot of fun brainstorming my own ideas, developing them into something presentable, and then testing them out together. One such session was teaching origami for the team. It became a fun way for TBR staff to connect with children as they learnt about better nutrition. When the children have fun, they learn more!
In my three months here, I realised that the social sector would benefit from both scalability and sustainable finance, much like businesses, to maximise social impact. Thus, there are many areas volunteers from the business sector can contribute and give back to society. I am now eager to be a leader who can balance social and business values. Through this program I realised I can decide my own life and way forward well, if grounded in honesty and by believing in my own potential, while striving to grow together with others and mutual respect.
To the next volunteer…… In India there is a saying, “Kuch achha ho jaaye , kuch meetha ho jaaye”. Essentially, if you base your work in generosity and good wishes, your work will turn out very nicely/sweetly. In that spirit I know at TBR there are sweets the only you can can make, there are others who will make sweets with you, and there are children waiting for your sweets. I sincerely believe that your personal journey with TBR will be very sweet!
