by Carlos Mayans

02 February 2009

Kolkata, India: Riiiing. It's Monday, a working day. Shower, Indian breakfast, chai of course and I am already on my way to the NGO I'm working with, Sruti.

In Kolkata, because of the traffic jams, it is difficult to be on time. If you add to this that I do not know most of the places and that I do not know the local language you can imagine that I need a looong time to reach my destinations.

Once there, I meet the president of the NGO. She is a very interesting person, very intelligent. She offers me tea and we start talking about her projects, my beliefs; and my projects and her beliefs. We will work together, definitely we can. More than four projects have started with this appointment and I became a volunteer in my free time for her NGO.

My usual work in Kolkata consists of designing a programme (with related models, systems and processes). This aims to provide a structure for national UNV volunteers working with Cisco around the world to engage Network Academy students in social work, enabling them to apply their IT and networking skills and knowledge to help their communities.

To make the programme more effective, I need to build partnerships with local NGOs like Sruti. I spend much time visiting the NGOs and identifying their specific information technology needs. When their needs are identified, I compile them in practical proposals that I later share with the students. Students are selected based on their skills and level of interest in the specific development sector.

The programme enables the students to develop different soft skills like communications and training, as well as to practice their newly acquired IT skills like networking or web development. With every practical proposal a new challenge starts for all of us: for the NGO, the Academy, the students and of course for me.

The experience gained in Kolkata will help inform the expansion of the programme in such a way that it can be easily replicated all around the world in the different Cisco Local Academies. Bringing the Cisco Networking Academy to developing countries has allowed their students the same educational opportunities that are currently being offered to students in other countries around the world.

Back in the office I have to write a practical proposal derived from the meeting. At six o'clock a new Cisco training started.  That day I was still working after eight o'clock, so after taking their lesson some of the new students came to me and asked me with interest: "Hello Sir, are you also working for Cisco?"

"Mmm, not exactly, I am a university volunteer with UNV, working in a joint programme with Cisco."

Another student joined the conversation. He knew some words of Spanish, I was very surprised. After a few minutes conversation I asked them: "Guys, are you interested in using your IT skills for social work? We need people like you!"

"Oh, yes, Sir."
"Do you have free time to do social work?"
"Sure, we are only studying at the moment."
"Excellent!"

They fitted perfectly with the needs of the NGO Sruti. I remembered the meeting I had that morning and thought about how sometimes the questions and the answers, the problems and the solutions are so close to each other. In this case only a few hours and kilometres.

Only the link between them was needed, and very little amount of energy, a catalyst for the scientists among us. I wonder how much change will happen when these two students start working for the poor, the disabled, women, their society! How much will the world change after that? How many other NetAcad students will join us because of them?

Maybe the entire world will be a different place after this day, of course a better place. When I think that sometimes only a link is needed, this question always comes to my mind: "Are you this link?"

Read more from Carlos Mayans here.