The Pull to Matter: Dasra’s Ripple Across India

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What's working on purpose anyway? Each
week we ponder the answer to this question.

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People ache for meaning and purpose at
work, to contribute their talents passionately

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and know their lives really matter.
They crave being part of an organization that

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inspires them and helps them grow into
realizing their highest potential business can be such

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a force for good in the world, elevating humanity. In our program,

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we provide guidance and inspiration to help
usher in this world we all want working

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on purpose. Now. Here is
your host, doctor Elise Cortes. Welcome

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back to the Working and Purpose Program. Thanks for tuning again this week.

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I'm your host, doctor Leuse Cortes, joining you live from Dallas, Texas,

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which is home base for me.
By waving introduction. If you don't

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know me, I'm a management consultant
specializing in meaning and purpose, organizational local

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therapist, inspirational speaker, social scientist, and author. You can learn more

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about me at a leascore test dot
com, orgastoshnow dot com. If you've

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been tuning in for a while,
you know this program as a thought leadership

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series that enlightens and inspires listeners with
and viewers with insights from distinguished business leaders,

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authors and subject matter experts by listening
in your part of the movement to

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create inspirational leaders and enlivening workplaces where
we can thrive and do business that betters

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the world. Glad you're here now
Onto this week's program with us today is

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Davel Sengavi. He's the co founder
and partner at Dasra, a strategic philanthropy

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foundation that nurtures powerful partnerships to help
India achieve STGs. By twenty thirty,

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we'll be talking about how DASRA was
born, hearing about the inspiring work it's

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doing to improve the lives of people
in India, and learn about a new

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storytelling concept he and the organization is
developing. Dabel joined us today from Mumbai,

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India, where it is four thirty
am for him next day. Davel,

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Welcome to Working on Purpose. Thank
you so much for having me.

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It's so wonderful to have you with
me, and I delight in this notion

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that we get to literally reach across
the globe for each other and share the

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amazing work that you're doing. So
I'm really really happy that JSH sent you

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to me, so thank you,
thank you. So let's start here.

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If we can. Boy. I've
been working on passion, inspiration and purpose

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and meeting for a while, and
it certainly occurs to me, Dabel,

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that you are a man living with
passion and working on purpose. I mean,

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my goodness. So let's open for
our listeners and our viewers with the

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story and what opened up for you
when you volunteer at Mumbai at the end

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of your college career, and I
think set the whole stage of events off,

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I think for me, and I
was born and brought up in Houston.

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I used to visit India quite often
with my parents to see family,

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and just seeing the disparity of children
who looked like me, who were a

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similar age, who unfortunately were left
begging at traffic lights, really impacted me

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to say that, you know,
there was something wrong I guess with the

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world that I was born providing housing, shelter, food, education, healthcare,

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yet so many did not have that
same opportunity. And so I think

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for me, it was what can
I do to sort of try my best,

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I guess, in my small way, to sort of level the blame

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field and enable others to have the
same opportunities that I was blessed with.

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And so I think for me,
when I was working with these children who

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lived on the streets in Mumbai,
I just learned so much actually from them

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about compassion, about hope, about
inspiration. I mean, they were every

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single day not only fighting for survival, but looking after themselves and their community

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to ensure that everyone sort of rose
together and they were protecting each other.

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They were sort of, I guess, demonstrated to me what the true meaning

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of compassion is, which is not
only looking at yourself and the individual needs,

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but really looking at the purpose of
helping everyone around you also succeed and

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helping them when they're down. And
I guess those learnings stuck through me,

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you know, for the years,
and really push me to move back to

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India in nineteen ninety nine to really
start an organization that supports these communities.

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I think it's profoundly beautiful that you
learn those lessons from children. Thank you.

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No, I mean, I think
children are the best, the best

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instructors of the world. They have
no biases, they have no sort of

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no way to sort of filter things. And I think, I mean all

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of us and you know clearly have
this desire to help others and to live

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a life for the purpose I think
through a variety of things, from economic

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pressures to education, to the need
of materialistic success versus perhaps personal inspiration and

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satisfaction. I think get in the
way as we get older. Well said,

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completely agree. Well, so,
as you probably might remember from our

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first conversation, among other things,
I'm an identity researcher, so I also

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know that names mean something, and
if my research is right, Dazra means

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enlightened giving. So if you would
tell us how did dazra come to be,

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where did it come from, why
does it exist? And am I

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right? Is it enlightened giving?
It is enlightened giving in sanscript. And

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the reason we've decided to use that
word and really start this organization is that

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we were blown away by the number
of great organizations that exist in India and

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also globally for that matter, where
you have frontline workers, many times from

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the community themselves, that are trying
new innovations, that are looking at how

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to best meet the needs of the
community, and are built sort of these

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initiatives and these organizations with actually very
little support from from from the world per

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se and and and for us,
that's really where we realized while giving was

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happening, very few people were really
thinking about the individuals behind these organizations or

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initiatives, and we felt that,
you know, these these true partners of

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change, uh that were literally at
times risking their lives or changing their own

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pathways again to live in purpose to
benefit others, very few people were actually

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benefiting them. So many people said, oh, well, if you run

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a nonprofit, you should have a
very low salary. No one actually should

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be supporting you. All the money
should go out to the beneficiary or the

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end customer. And I guess our
view was, while that is critical,

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of course, if you don't build
a capacity of these leaders, chances are

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they themselves will not be able to
achieve their impact and their goals. And

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and so for us, we felt
like while giving was happening, enlightened,

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giving was slightly a step further,
where you're actually supporting the backbones of these

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entities, enabling them to create greater
impact and looking at sort of long term

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change which is very much community driven. And I think today, you know,

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with COVID and the other inequalities,
I guess that COVID is thrown up.

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We realize that if you're not really
listening to the community. If you're

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not supporting them, and if you're
not sort of backing them for the long

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term, chances are you're not an
enlightened giver, but just a giver.

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And I think for the world to
change and for us to, like I

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said earlier, level the playing field, you need to have a certain level

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of enlightenment, which we hope that
we can create and provide to both the

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nonprofit leaders but as well as the
givers that we support in their journeys.

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You know. And a big reason
I wanted to have you on the show

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da able to share your story is
that what I've really come to realize over

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the course of hosting Working and Purpose
for five and a half years, is

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that by choosing who comes up on
my show and together, of course we

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talk about the general gist of the
conversation, I'm curating the conversation and I'm

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doing that on purpose. So I
am absolutely behind the notion of helping to

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create more enlightened communities and leaders.
And that's big reason I wanted to have

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you on the show, because I
really feel like what you're doing is I

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see that you're creating this really strong
net that keeps rising within India. And

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bringing together people in ways they couldn't
have otherwise come to together before. And

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it's such a beautiful model that it
needs sharing. And if others can duplicate

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it across the world or help you
in your efforts, I'd be happy to

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make that. I'm happy to make
that happen through this conversation. So I'm

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happy you're here. And then of
course we have to talk about I mean,

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you've been around for a couple of
decades now, and I believe and

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obviously organizations change and evolve as their
needs change and grow. And I believe

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if I understand and did my homework
right, that Dazer began as a venture

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philanthropy fund to invest in early stage
nonprofit organizations in India and the aim was

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to bridge the gap between funders and
nonprofits by educating funders to be more strategic

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and they're giving and helping nonprofits use
the funds in the most optimal way.

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Yes, no, kind of sort
of was at the start. No,

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no, very much so. And
so we provided funding to help our early

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stage organizations grow in scale and of
course quite a bit of managerial support.

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Again, our realization, I guess
was the while going back to enlightened giving.

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While there are many check writers in
the world and that's very very important

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to give, many times again the
emotional support and the managerial guidance was missing,

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and and really the connect with the
community as well. And so unfortunately

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what happens at times in the giving
space is those who are writing the checks,

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they they prove they give up quite
a bit of power with that check

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and they dictate where the funds can
go, how they should be spent.

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They end up many times forcing the
organizations to either cut owners and programs or

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have very short timeframes when many of
these nonprofits are looking at generational changes which

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cannot happen in a three to six
month period but actually takes years to embed

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in the communities that they're trying to
serve. And so for us, I

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think it was really saying that you
know, once you find that organizational organizations

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that you're supporting, you need to
back them to the till because you're not

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actually just supporting them. You're trying
to, for example, end child marriage

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in a country. And once you
realize that that is your mission, I

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think you become far more open and
gracious in terms of being able to actually

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write those checks. And realize it's
a privilege to have organizations and individuals that

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are working on this cause, and
it's in your best interest and the community's

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best interest for that matter, to
really be there as a real partner and

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listen to them, not the other
way around. And so that's really sort

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of the learnings that we've had over
the years is you know, trust that

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ENGO leader as you would an entrepreneur
in the for profit space who has created

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a product that the market likes,
and guide them and support them, versus

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saying, well, I gave you
a check, so now I need X,

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Y, and Z, and if
you don't do this within a stipulated

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timeframe, I'm going to go to
your competitors, let to speak. That

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I mean, unfortunately, that doesn't
necessarily work, and that again creates short

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term band aid solutions which are not
going to solve any of these generational issues

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that we see in India or globally
for that matter. I really like that

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direction, really really align with that
direction. And then another thing that I

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thought was really fascinating that I wanted
to delve into it. I mentioned in

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the introduction this idea of scaling to
achieve the sustainable development goals by twenty thirty.

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This whole notion. Those are critical
drivers for DAZRA. And so first

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help us understand, if you would, what are these sustainable development goals and

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which organization do they derive from.
So, the Sustainable Development Goals were created

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at the United Nations in twenty and
fifteen and all the countries part of the

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United Nations signed up for these goals. There were fairly ambitious. They were

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a follow up from the Millennium Development
Goals which were first created in two thousand

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and so these goals now have have
had a track record of in fifteen years

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to solve certain issues that plague our
world and the entire world literally coming together

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to say we will put a target
and a goal that seems unachievable in this

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land, but give ourselves fifteen years
to try to solve these issues. And

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when you start looking at them,
whether it's education, livelihoods, energy,

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shelter rights, you realize, given
the population of India, we actually have

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about a twenty percent burden of the
Sustainable Development goals, i e. If

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India does not meet it's sustainable development
goals, the world does not meet that.

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And given that this has been signed
up again by India, but sort

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of declared at the United Nations.
We realize if the country has decided to

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sort of put that stake in the
ground, then we will do our best

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to enable them to reach that goal. Mm hmm. Well, of course,

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one of the reasons I gravitated that
because some of the other research that

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I've done for other programs really talks
more about the United Nations goals and such,

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and I'm very intrigued with the idea
that if we don't reach high,

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we'll never get there. So the
importance of reaching high is important. And

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then along the that note, one
of the things that I found really compelling

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and I'm trying to learn from you, is you say that through your journey,

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you realize that when your dream is
to impact the lives of a billion

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Indians, one billion Indians, you
can't do it alone. So talk to

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us a little bit about how who
have you enrolled and what are you doing

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to get some help. Yeah,
sure, And I think that's again,

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you know, going back to even
thus or in our model, we realize

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for any of these changes to happen, it has to have a partnership approach.

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You need to work with individuals ideally
from the community themselves that are lifting

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themselves out of poverty and listen to
them number one. And so I think

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sort of bringing community to the forefront
of these conversations, not as an afterthought,

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is as critical. But as you
do so, you realize there's a

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need for many other actors as you
stated, to participate. There could be

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technical experts that need to come in. They can be of course, the

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nonprofit leaders and their teams. They
could be givers and different forms of givers

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as well. I mean, we've
been fortunate to work, for example,

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with corporate foundations that not only provide
capital for these organizations to achieve their goals,

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but also their staff come in and
provide professional skills to these organizations.

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And so what that means is,
for example, it's a bank, they

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are actually bringing financial capabilities to the
organization and building financial models in Excel as

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they would their for profit clients,
and really helping the organization understand the different

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financial scenarios they should think about,
which is especially critical again at times like

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this where there's a financial crisis both
in India and globally due to COVID.

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Really helping these organizations understand if your
budget is cut by twenty five percent.

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What do you do next? How
do you sort of think about your team,

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your programs, your own sustainability and
so really it's about bringing not just

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funding to the organizations, but also
your access to the expertise you have,

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as well as to networks. And
so over the years, we've worked with

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thousands of individuals, companies, foundations, nonprofit heads and even government officials to

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sort of create platforms where everyone can
come together. And similar to the sustainable

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development goals in that manner where sort
of it was, like I said,

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the world coming together. We feel
if you can bring various different groups together

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and perspectives with a singular and very
big, hairy, audacious goal, chances

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are you will be faster in solving
that because again you're bringing different forms of

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expertise, of funding, and relationships
honestly that are all required and critical to

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affect social change. I don't know
when you sleep, but we're going to

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talk more about how this all happens
here. But let's grab our first break.

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I'm not Relie Cortez, I'm your
host. We've aren there with Davil

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Sangavi. He is the co founder
and partner at Dazra, and we've been

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talking about how this organization started,
where it came from. After the break,

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we're going to talk about some of
the work that they do and the

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impact they're having in India. Stay
with us, we'll be right back.

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Doctor release Cortes is a management consultant
specializing in meaning and purpose and inspirational speaker

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and author. She helps companies visioneer
for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose

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inspired leadership and meaning infused cultures that
elevate fulfillment, performance, and commitment within

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the workforce. To learn more or
to invite Elise to speak to your organization,

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please visit her at elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

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your employees working on purpose. This
is working on Purpose with doctor Elise Cortes.

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To reach our program today or open
a conversation with Alise, send an

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email to Aleise Alise at elisecortes dot
com. Now back to working on Purpose.

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Thankteresting with us, and welcome back
to working on Purpose. Before we

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go back into a program, I
want to share with you that my new

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book Purpose Ignited is out on Amazon. It is a pandemic baby. It

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came out for the pandemic and it
came out on Amazon November nineteen seventeenth.

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So if that's of interest to you, please check it out. I'd love

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to have your feedback on it and
enroll you in the conversation with us today

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is Davil Sangavi. He is the
co founder and partner at Dazra who joins

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it today from Mumbai, India.
So for this next section here Dave Well,

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I want to talk about and help
our listeners and viewers understand just the

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incredible work that you're doing through Dazra, and I wanted if we can to

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give some perspective just to the sheer
numbers here for listeners who maybe aren't is

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acquainted with India as I am.
I love your country, I have been

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there as you know, but to
give some perspective. United Nations reports that

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India's population as one point three billion
as of January twenty thirty. Hindi and

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English are the official languages, though
there are nineteen others observed. The GDP

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kapita is twenty one hundred and four. Contrast that with the US is three

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hundred and thirty one million population one
language with Spanish observed and sixty five thousand

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per kapita. So I want to
presence that because it's just such an enormous

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contrast. So from your vantage point, Davill, what are some of the

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biggest problem who's in India that Dazzrus
stands to solve or help address? And

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India is very interesting and unique because, like you said, first of all,

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the population is one point three billion, and when you have one point

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three billion with a per capita income
of close to two thousand dollars, uh,

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it throws up many many issues.
To be honest with you, yes,

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and so the basics of for example, even safe sanitation, something that

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for the most of America we take
for granted, does not necessarily exist for

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many of Indian citizens today. And
so what this means is many individuals don't

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have access to a toilet in their
house. That toilet, unfortunately is not

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actually hooked up to sewage lines,
which has for for treatment, which ensures

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our rivers and our lakes are free
of fecal matter. And I know that's

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not a great subject to speak about, but when you start thinking about basic

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dignity and one's inability, for example, to use the restroom in private in

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one's own home, but instead are
forced to defecate in public. It's really

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just the basis of any society,
I would say, in terms of what

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dignity means. And unfortunately in India, just like many other countries in the

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world, women bear the brunt of
this, more so because many many women

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across the country we don't have access
to toilets. This means that they actually

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have to use the restroom at at
four in the morning when no one else

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is there, they have to go
in packs to ensure that they're not sexually

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harassed, and after sunrise occurs,
they're unable to actually use the restroom in

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public till it gets dark again.
And so hundreds of millions of individuals again

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I don't have access to toilets,
and again that the toilet itself therefore is

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not treated. And so the health
issues you have because of this is significant,

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both in terms of increases of diarrhea, and so we have over a

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thousand children dying every single day in
India due to preventable deaths such as diarrhea.

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And again this is very much linked
to the lack of drinking water that

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we have, which is linked to
the clean drinking water at least, which

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is again linked to the treatment not
happening, and so anything basic you know,

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from toilets to nutrition to do education
and livelihoods. Unfortunately in India there's

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an array of issues that need support
in order for sort of again that level

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of playing field to occur. There's
no way that I could have narrated that

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in presence that the way that you
did lable and it is just astounding.

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And what I get so present to
is the magnificence to be in service of

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your one precious life. I'm just
so honored to have you sharing what you

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and DASA are doing and what it's
really profound. And as you were talking

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earlier and you were talking about the
partnerships and such, the one thing that

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I was so present to as you
were sharing that is what in the world

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is this model that makes this all
work? Because it must. I know

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you have one hundred or so people
on your team, but talk to us

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about this model that Dazra uses to
realize this vision And what is the vision

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by the way of Dazra. Sure
No, the vision is a transformed India

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where a billion drive with dignity and
equity. And I think that in itself

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Number one looking at a billion.
Many times when we look at the development

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sector or helping others, to be
honest, unfortunately, it's not about leveling

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the playing field. It's giving the
least amount to ensure, for example,

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a little change happens. And so
in India literacy and around the world,

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literacy many times is measured not by
if somebody can read a paragraph in the

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third grade or fifth grade levels.
It's actually just the reading and writing of

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one's name defines literacy. And so
when you start lowering the benchmark of what

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for example, literacy is, or
poverty is, or access to quality healthcare

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is to those who don't have access
to these areas. And we all know

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if all we could do is read
and write our names, how far that

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would get us in the world.
And in fact, it is to a

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certain extent dangerous because if you consider
somebody literate by their ability to sign a

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document, but they don't have the
ability to read the document, it just

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gives you a sense of that issue. And so I think we start really

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our model with understanding these issues from
round up and so many times we do

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nine to twelve months of research in
a particular sector, identifying two to three

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hundred organizations in that sector that are
creating change and start sort of evaluating,

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you know, which are these interventions
that are creating value. After that,

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we sort of start talking to the
management teams of these organizations. We start

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understanding their plans. We start informing
them also of what others are doing,

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not just in the nonprofit world,
but also what corporates are doing, what

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foundations are doing, and also what
government policies exist as well, So really

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giving awareness and knowledge to those change
makers on the ground so they're better equipped

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to sort of solve the issues in
front of them. And then finally,

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through this entire effort, we slowly
start bringing in influencers to the conversation and

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so again, and on our website
we have for example, seventy research reports

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on different topics. They're very thick
and long reports, any of them are

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one hundred pages each. But it
starts gives sort of the philanthropists, whom

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many time you know has a full
time job so it's not fully emerged into

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the sector, the ability to sort
of go through, for example, the

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tenets of malnutrition and realize that if
you actually attack that issue when you're dealing

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with children between the ages of zero
and three, when many of the cognitive

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abilities is created, you're actually able
to prevent many of the healthy issues going

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forward. And so providing again this
level of insight on okay, what is

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the cause of the problem with malnutrition, we realized it was actually an urban

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India that suffered more than rural India, which which was quite odd because many

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people thought rural India means food shortages. But rural India also has family structures

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in place, and so you have
mother in laws and grandparents and everyone looking

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after the child, where in urban
India you have single family dwellings where both

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the parents are working, similar again
to the US, and so siblings at

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times are are forced to look after
siblings. And it's much easier to feed

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your younger brother or sister potato chips
for lunch or dinner than a healthy meal

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of lentils and rice. And so
just helping sort of others understand the breadth

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of the issue, the different interventions
that exist and how they can get engaged,

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and the fact that we open source
all of our research, we have

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conversations with multiple stakeholders and government philanthropists
and jail leaders. Slowly we're actually are

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building a movement in that particular space
that likes you said earlier, that allows

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different perspectives, different individuals, different
stakeholders to coalesce around this issue with the

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same base of knowledge, which is
critical, and then sort of move forward.

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And so that's really been I think
our vision from day one is is,

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you know, have these bold sort
of statements, but then back it

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up with not just us as one
hundred individuals, but more importantly with the

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communities that we're able to serve to
sort of fight against these injustices. I'm

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going to take it one step from
and it's also really interesting is that you're

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also encouraging your philanthropists to invest their
skills, expertise, networks in capital.

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So it's not just their their pocketbooks, but it's their whole person that you're

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enrolling in this process. Exactly.
Again, if you're trying to root out

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child marriage, something that unfortunately is
still very rampid in India, it can't

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be done by sitting, you know, in your living room, writing at

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check once a year and saying,
Okay, my job is done. You

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need to get involved, You need
to get engaged, you need to understand

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the issue, and again you need
to support these organizations in addition to writing

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checks and so one of the things
we realized early on was that in order

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to create wealth, one actually means
certain skills, and those skills are are

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are as relevant to a nonprofit organization
as they are to a for profit organization,

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and so really understanding these groups.
And we've seen this in the for

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profit world at least with angel investing
and and venture capital, and to a

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certain extent for the good players and
private equity. It's really about once you

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back an entrepreneur, it's to give
them all you can to ensure they succeed,

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and and so access to networks,
managerial support, really helping them think

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through their issues versus hide them because
they're afraid if they say that there's an

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issue, they won't get funding.
These are the sort of disconnects I guess

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we've we tried to change and again
level the playing field of power and voice.

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And I think that's you know,
even more critical today, as I

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said, when when you're seeing that
many of the programs that that have been

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implemented, unfortunately at times have more
of a vested interest on what the donor

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wants versus what the community needs.
And so I think we try to sort

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of, you know, create that
sort of balance back ideally, but really

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tell the philanthropists that they're as much
of a change marker as the organization head.

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But then they need to spend the
time and effort to actually to do

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so. And and and we realized
through this journey it's it's also far more

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rewarding for the philanthropist or the giver
for that matter, because they realize that

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they're actually solving for the problem and
like I said, doing much more than

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that three minute wire transfer once a
year. They're getting involved many times hourly

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on a monthly basis to really understand
mentor to help and and and co create

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solutions for the communities that they're trying
to serve versus just just write that check

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far more meaningfully, influent, more
meaningfully that is that is, that's amazing.

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And then to that end, if
you could speak to how it is

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that DASRA drives collaboration because you've got
to specific process or a methodology that you

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use. If you could just speak
to that to help our listeners and viewers

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better understand just what we mean by
this collaboration. And I think one of

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the reasons why collaboration does not happen
in all walks of life, is because

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each person is starting with a different
set of data or evidence, and and

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so the knowledge base differs, I
would say with many stakeholders, which which

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is obvious given they're under their their
sort of vantage point, their their full

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day sort of full time jobs,
the communities that they grew up with or

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are exposed to, and and so
for us, it's really number one bringing

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that evidence to the table, uh, and that data and and so I

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think what we realized is if you're
able to actually create far greater evidence about

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a topic without actually asking people to
collaborate or even telling them where to go,

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and you make that topic or that
evidence, excuse me, open source,

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chances are, uh, thousands of
people will see this, but hundreds

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will actually respond and want to come
together. And and so it's it's very

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much about putting things out there which
is free to access around the world for

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that matter. But but but then
through that, there there is a process

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of vetting where those that are interested
to take charge or get more engaged start

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sending us, you know, messages, We start having conversations, and through

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that we start really understanding the dynamic
of their vantage point, they're able to

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understand the field far more than they
did before because they have access to this

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research. They see what's actually happening
on the ground, they've read about the

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interventions that exist, and and and
slowly you start sort of then bringing different

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groups together again on the same platform
with really the first goal of setting up

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a goal. I think that's another
big point about collaboration is is once you

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00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:05.599
have everyone onto the same platform,
if you don't have like the sustainable development

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goals, something that is articulate and
that as a stake in the ground on

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what you want to do in a
five year period or ten year period,

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chances are you will actually bring people
together, but they'll all be working in

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different directions. And again, this
is even more likely when you have people

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from around the world or different experiences
coming together. And so we sort of

408
00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:34.680
try to align on particular sort of
metrics or indicators or goals that we will

409
00:32:34.720 --> 00:32:37.960
achieve, and then from that we
all sort of commit to do whatever it

410
00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:42.519
takes to get there. And I
think that is the most critical piece of

411
00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:46.680
this process, is we throw ego
out the window and we're here to serve.

412
00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:52.480
And I think that is also really
important to ensure sort of not just

413
00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:57.599
the long lasting nature of this collaborative, but also your ability to pivot as

414
00:32:57.759 --> 00:33:02.039
changes do take place on the grid
in the communities you're serving for a variety

415
00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:07.680
of reasons, and sort of having
that mentality of do whatever it takes insures

416
00:33:07.759 --> 00:33:10.079
even if there's a setback, that
you're still there to sort of, you

417
00:33:10.119 --> 00:33:15.680
know, understand what that setback is
and implement the best solution going forward,

418
00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:19.759
versus letting go of saying Okay,
this is too hard or they couldn't achieve

419
00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:22.119
their goals, so we're now just
going to stop. It's really saying,

420
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:24.200
okay, we need to keep trying
until we achieve those goals. And I

421
00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:29.920
think that's a big difference. It's
just so smart and so big and compelling.

422
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:32.240
Davill, I'm so happy to share
you with our listeners. Here,

423
00:33:32.720 --> 00:33:36.599
let's grab our next break if we
can. I'm doctor Relie Ortez, your

424
00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:38.559
host. We are on the air
with Davil Sanngavi. He's the co founder

425
00:33:38.599 --> 00:33:42.400
and partner at Dazra. We've been
talking a bit about some of the work

426
00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:45.200
that they do and their approach to
their work. After the break, we're

427
00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:47.160
going to talk about the stories they're
now begin to collect a champion, a

428
00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:51.039
new breed of change makers. Stay
with us, We'll be right back.

429
00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:58.720
Doctor release Cortes is a management consultant
specializing in meaning and purpose and inspirational speaker

430
00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:04.519
and author. She helped company's visioneer
for greater purpose among stakeholders and develop purpose

431
00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:10.599
inspired leadership and meaning infused cultures that
elevate fulfillment, performance, and commitment within

432
00:34:10.679 --> 00:34:15.280
the workforce. To learn more or
to invite Elise to speak to your organization,

433
00:34:15.639 --> 00:34:20.679
please visit her at elisecortes dot com. Let's talk about how to get

434
00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:31.679
your employees working on purpose. This
is working on Purpose with doctor Elise Cortes.

435
00:34:32.199 --> 00:34:37.119
To reach our program today or open
a conversation with Alise, send an

436
00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:45.239
email to Elise Alise at elisecortes dot
com. Now back to working on purpose.

437
00:34:50.360 --> 00:34:52.599
Thanks for stating with us, and
welcome back to working on purpose.

438
00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:54.320
If you're just now tuning in,
my guest is Stable Sengavi. He is

439
00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:58.119
the co founder and partner at Dazron. He joins you today from Mumbai,

440
00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:01.320
India. I'm your host, Doctor
Elise Corte has so for this last segment

441
00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:05.880
here and I want to share another
one other question from before that we didn't

442
00:35:05.920 --> 00:35:07.840
get to towards the very end.
But what I want to do for our

443
00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:12.480
listeners and viewers is help them understand
this amazing new thing that you're doing to

444
00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:15.119
champion a new breed of change makers, which I just think is phenomenal because

445
00:35:15.440 --> 00:35:21.679
it continues your reach to evolve and
continue the work that you're doing today.

446
00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:23.960
I just think it's so brilliant to
fold this in here. So you told

447
00:35:24.039 --> 00:35:28.119
me when we were first talking about
having you come on the show that you're

448
00:35:28.119 --> 00:35:30.760
interested in having people tell their personal
stories and the hurdles that they've faced.

449
00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:35.000
So of course you know I'm in
for that. But why do you think

450
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.719
those stories are important? I think
it's very easy to be caught in the

451
00:35:39.719 --> 00:35:47.159
twenty four hour news cycle and forget
about not just sort of issues. I

452
00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:51.800
mean, those are thrown at us
on a regular basis, but more importantly

453
00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:59.199
the stories and the real stories again
individuals fighting these issues at all cost and

454
00:35:59.239 --> 00:36:02.760
succeeding. I think we don't do
as good of a job at talking about

455
00:36:02.840 --> 00:36:10.280
those stories. We don't highlight those
individuals, and and invariably therefore we're not

456
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:16.960
actually driving uh for for for role
models in those that are at all,

457
00:36:17.159 --> 00:36:21.840
you know, sort of cost lifting
themselves and their families out of poverty,

458
00:36:22.199 --> 00:36:24.800
and instead we just talk about poverty
for example, and and and so I

459
00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:30.400
think it's having these stories of of
how individuals have beat the system uh and

460
00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:35.519
and have taken matters into their own
hands, and and how interventions have have

461
00:36:35.639 --> 00:36:40.159
actually helped them to do so I
think is really really important U for those

462
00:36:40.159 --> 00:36:44.800
who are struggling to nnember one not
only see that there's hope, but more

463
00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:47.719
importantly, I think, realize that
they're pathways that have been tried and tested

464
00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:52.559
from individuals who are in the same
predicament as themselves. Uh and and and

465
00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:55.559
if you think about you know,
those pathways and being able to follow some

466
00:36:55.599 --> 00:37:00.119
of them, there is a potential
of of of coming out of those issues.

467
00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:05.320
And so I think for us it's
really that's what number one drives us

468
00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:08.199
every day. And we know who
these individuals are, We've seen them grow,

469
00:37:08.280 --> 00:37:13.599
and we therefore, like you said, are able to have sleepless nights

470
00:37:14.639 --> 00:37:16.960
working because we know that there is
a sort of a light in the end

471
00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:22.360
of the tunnel and change can occur. HM. And of course you know

472
00:37:22.559 --> 00:37:25.920
why did I start hosting Working on
Purpose because I wanted something very similar.

473
00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:30.079
I wanted to showcase stories of people
who are passionate about their work at first,

474
00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:32.840
and then stories of inspiration and then
purpose. And so what we get

475
00:37:32.840 --> 00:37:37.639
out of these stories is we get
a role model, and we get instruction,

476
00:37:37.840 --> 00:37:40.679
we get inspiration. So I asked
you to think about if there was

477
00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:45.239
a story in particular that you wanted
to share with with our listeners and viewers,

478
00:37:45.239 --> 00:37:49.679
somebody that you'd like to chronicle and
share. Who would you share and

479
00:37:49.719 --> 00:37:53.840
why is there story important? Sure, and we've been fortunate again at Thas

480
00:37:54.119 --> 00:38:00.199
to work with. Like I said
earlier, thousands of organizations impact ends of

481
00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:07.320
millions of lives and so there are
many stories out there. I think the

482
00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:12.239
one that's sort of near and dear
to me since this was at the start

483
00:38:12.400 --> 00:38:16.119
of me I moving to India in
nineteen ninety nine two thousand was to help

484
00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:22.639
set up a girl's shelter. So
this was to help girls who were either

485
00:38:22.719 --> 00:38:29.320
living on the streets, had hardships
anywhere from being trafficked at one point of

486
00:38:29.320 --> 00:38:36.159
time to to sort of single parent
street dwellings and so again just at risk

487
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:39.000
of being trafficked and that's still a
big issue, and unfortunately trafficking is an

488
00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:45.079
issue that has gone up with COVID. But so the shelter was really set

489
00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:50.639
up and designed to sort of provide
not just a safe space with these girls,

490
00:38:50.719 --> 00:38:54.360
but really a loving environment for them
to become sort of sustainable, so

491
00:38:54.440 --> 00:38:59.760
the citizens of their own right.
And I think that was a big shift

492
00:38:59.760 --> 00:39:02.719
for again, as I stated earlier, where you could actually put provide a

493
00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:07.920
roof over somebody's head, and that
may check the boxes off from a development

494
00:39:07.000 --> 00:39:14.800
perspective, but it actually doesn't change
somebody's life. And so one of the

495
00:39:14.840 --> 00:39:21.079
girls who came into this institute early
into the center, came with her sister.

496
00:39:21.559 --> 00:39:27.320
She was less than nine years old
and looking after her younger sister.

497
00:39:27.480 --> 00:39:34.159
And it was hard clearly the experiences
that she had to grand to come into

498
00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:37.880
a space now that was rigid,
that had rules, that at school,

499
00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:44.039
that had a routine, that had
twenty eight other girls there that that she

500
00:39:44.119 --> 00:39:49.960
had never even known, and and
and so just going through that, and

501
00:39:49.960 --> 00:39:57.159
and fast forward to today where in
the last nine months she actually became years

502
00:39:57.199 --> 00:40:00.079
ago a trained nurse and in the
last nine months has been working at a

503
00:40:00.159 --> 00:40:07.519
local hospital in the COVID war treating
COVID patients. And and you just realize

504
00:40:07.559 --> 00:40:14.800
how she through her grit and determination
to go do well, to get into

505
00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:20.000
nursing school to graduate, and now
when you know the world needs her the

506
00:40:20.079 --> 00:40:23.719
most, she's not backing down and
she's risking her own life like many out

507
00:40:23.760 --> 00:40:30.079
there professionals are globally to treat patients
you know, who have who have COVID,

508
00:40:30.159 --> 00:40:34.159
and and and it's just shocking because
at least in the Indian context,

509
00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:37.679
then smaller hospitals you know, PPE
again is an issue. And and so

510
00:40:38.920 --> 00:40:43.840
and we can send this to your
viewers or or post this. But so

511
00:40:43.880 --> 00:40:45.719
there's a photo of her where she
puts sort of this, you know,

512
00:40:45.960 --> 00:40:51.800
sort of like a handmaid has matt
suit on and tapes herself into it.

513
00:40:51.880 --> 00:40:54.320
And so, which what that means
is for for six hours, she's not

514
00:40:54.360 --> 00:40:58.039
even able to use the restroom or
get out of it because she's with the

515
00:40:58.119 --> 00:41:00.719
patient. But that's sort of the
level the PP we have right now.

516
00:41:00.760 --> 00:41:07.639
And and for somebody again who you
know, all odds were unfortunately against her,

517
00:41:07.719 --> 00:41:12.800
to now be treating individuals with COVID
just shows that you know, these

518
00:41:12.840 --> 00:41:17.119
things do make a difference and people
if you give them the right opportunities and

519
00:41:17.119 --> 00:41:22.599
and and take away the negatives which
unfortunately many of us are exposed to in

520
00:41:22.920 --> 00:41:27.519
this world, they will find a
way to succeed. And again, this

521
00:41:27.599 --> 00:41:30.360
is a very you know, one
individual, but just knowing that there's so

522
00:41:30.519 --> 00:41:35.920
many others like her that that have
fought through all challenges I think keeps us

523
00:41:36.000 --> 00:41:39.400
goping. Just really speaks to the
magnificence of the human spirit. To me

524
00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:43.679
as a logo therapist, I just
that's what is the undergird for me,

525
00:41:43.760 --> 00:41:47.000
and then under that for me as
well as I feel like Dazra and you

526
00:41:47.079 --> 00:41:51.960
and team already doing so much to
make a difference to those one billion lives

527
00:41:51.960 --> 00:41:54.079
that you want to make a difference
to it in India and now here you

528
00:41:54.159 --> 00:42:00.360
are. You want to be able
to steward these conversations, chronicle these conversations

529
00:42:00.400 --> 00:42:04.960
in order to inspire a new breed
of change makers that is phenomenal. People

530
00:42:05.039 --> 00:42:07.400
say more about what's behind that,
what are you trying to do there?

531
00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:12.360
So, as you said earlier,
we've been around now for twenty one years,

532
00:42:12.480 --> 00:42:16.320
and so it's a long time.
We've learned a lot made multiple mistakes,

533
00:42:16.920 --> 00:42:23.880
but throughout this journey we've been inspired
by by so many and so from

534
00:42:23.960 --> 00:42:28.920
day one, I guess the benefit
of starting something when you're twenty four years

535
00:42:28.920 --> 00:42:34.480
old is you know nothing, You
have zero axless the capital, and so

536
00:42:34.519 --> 00:42:37.360
you're there just to learn and to
support. And I think that same mentality

537
00:42:37.400 --> 00:42:43.039
has lasted through us, Rah,
but we sort of realized that it's honestly

538
00:42:43.079 --> 00:42:49.760
been unfair that we've been exposed to
such inspiring individuals and stories and really have

539
00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:53.079
learned from them. And that's allowed
us to, as you said, hire

540
00:42:53.119 --> 00:42:59.000
a team of one hundred people and
work consistently to deliver social changed impact.

541
00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:04.079
But we wanted those the same individuals
that inspire us their stories actually to be

542
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:09.440
broadcasted and amplified more, uh,
because we think that if we are inspired

543
00:43:09.480 --> 00:43:14.599
by them, and selfishly, I
guess we've you know, had these inspirational

544
00:43:14.639 --> 00:43:17.800
moments in one on one meetings,
but we haven't really amplified that inspiration to

545
00:43:17.960 --> 00:43:23.079
the world. And and so really
the goal for us is to have a

546
00:43:23.119 --> 00:43:28.519
podcast series, which I guess is
everyone must be rolling their eyes now since

547
00:43:28.519 --> 00:43:31.400
there are many of these now that
have emerged, especially in lockdown times.

548
00:43:31.400 --> 00:43:37.440
But really to showcase their stories,
highlight how they shifted their perspectives and their

549
00:43:37.559 --> 00:43:43.840
views over time. When it comes
to the development in India, with the

550
00:43:43.880 --> 00:43:49.960
goal of not just inspiring others,
but but hopefully there are elements for example,

551
00:43:50.079 --> 00:43:54.679
in impact change and development in India, which again has a per cappity

552
00:43:54.719 --> 00:44:00.280
income of two thousand dollars uh to
to other countries which have maybe a similar

553
00:44:00.280 --> 00:44:06.280
per capita income, And so the
goal is to highlight this and to sort

554
00:44:06.320 --> 00:44:10.920
of spread that inspiration, but belie
even make some connects along the way where

555
00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:15.559
these individuals are able to share their
pathways which may be applicable in other areas,

556
00:44:15.920 --> 00:44:20.360
not just in India. Before I
ask you to drill down that,

557
00:44:20.440 --> 00:44:24.559
let's acknowledge one of our one of
our listeners, Mirian zach Arelli. She

558
00:44:24.760 --> 00:44:30.079
is she is coming in from Brazil. Oimamega echo lega. She she speaks

559
00:44:30.119 --> 00:44:32.840
Portuguese. I do too because I
live there. So thank you for listening,

560
00:44:32.880 --> 00:44:37.039
Mirian, and she says congratulations Stable, So she wants to acknowledge what

561
00:44:37.079 --> 00:44:40.159
you're doing. So it's fantastic,
but really quick, if we can say

562
00:44:40.159 --> 00:44:43.239
a little bit more, because when
you and I first met, you were

563
00:44:43.280 --> 00:44:45.800
just launching this platform, this podcast
platform. So how's it going, where

564
00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:49.840
are you in the process, and
what can we do to help? No,

565
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:52.280
I appreciate that, and I think, first of all, I appreciate

566
00:44:52.280 --> 00:44:55.719
the work you do and in our
conversation as well, I think you gave

567
00:44:55.800 --> 00:45:00.199
us, you know, pearls of
wisdom on how we should think about out

568
00:45:00.239 --> 00:45:05.639
this and and being prepared was number
one. And so our goal is to

569
00:45:05.719 --> 00:45:10.840
launch in March. We have the
interview list ready. We're doing sort of

570
00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:15.800
the research like you do with each
of the listeners, and we've actually taken

571
00:45:15.840 --> 00:45:20.400
your advice and we think maybe the
first few we may do in a similar

572
00:45:20.440 --> 00:45:27.920
sort of video and uh sort of
sound I guess medium, and and so

573
00:45:28.000 --> 00:45:30.840
we will be doing zoom as well
as sort of a podcast and and so

574
00:45:31.280 --> 00:45:36.920
the goal is to launch this in
March with initially with ten episodes, so

575
00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:40.599
ten individuals were interviewing. Uh.
These will be established givers, these will

576
00:45:40.639 --> 00:45:45.239
be change makers. These will be
also stories of people who've lifted themselves out

577
00:45:45.239 --> 00:45:51.079
of poverty and and them telling their
story versus you know, us telling their

578
00:45:51.119 --> 00:45:54.280
story. And and so the goal
is to really again bring the different stakeholders

579
00:45:54.320 --> 00:46:00.159
together and their perspectives to hell again
help us all realize that while develop and

580
00:46:00.280 --> 00:46:06.280
does take time, by bringing these
different perspectives together and bringing that, you

581
00:46:06.320 --> 00:46:09.840
know, collective action, you can
actually create greater change and impact. And

582
00:46:10.159 --> 00:46:15.800
so we're helping these authentic conversations in
long form format just like you do.

583
00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:19.559
Uh. Well, we'll sort of
start spreading some of these stories and and

584
00:46:19.679 --> 00:46:23.440
inspired others to follow in their footsteps
or or take up their own passion or

585
00:46:23.480 --> 00:46:29.440
purpose projects given that they've heerved that
others have done so with the past and

586
00:46:29.559 --> 00:46:32.000
will they will? They live on
dasreas somewhere, So when our listeners and

587
00:46:32.079 --> 00:46:35.760
viewers they now know who you are, will they be able to find that

588
00:46:36.360 --> 00:46:38.760
platform? There? Definitely, So
on our website we will have it.

589
00:46:38.840 --> 00:46:45.639
We've also partnered with a podcast provider
called in the Field uh uh and and

590
00:46:45.719 --> 00:46:51.599
they've run a few different podcasts now
on in India and and so uh there'll

591
00:46:51.639 --> 00:46:53.719
be our website and in the Field's
website you'll be able to access this.

592
00:46:54.400 --> 00:46:59.119
Okay, great, And we're getting
really really really close to the end here

593
00:46:59.360 --> 00:47:00.519
and I want to be do the
chance to close. But is there anything

594
00:47:00.519 --> 00:47:06.039
our listeners and viewers can do to
help you. I think there are two

595
00:47:06.039 --> 00:47:08.440
ways. I guess Number one,
if you're interested in India, please go

596
00:47:08.519 --> 00:47:13.880
to our website look at the research
reports anywhere from child marriage to malnutrition,

597
00:47:13.960 --> 00:47:17.719
to sanitation to education. We have
different sort of data out there and evidence

598
00:47:17.760 --> 00:47:22.400
on who's doing what. And by
all means of please support those organizations.

599
00:47:22.440 --> 00:47:27.679
I mean we give the contact details
of those organizations or or contact us and

600
00:47:27.719 --> 00:47:30.519
we can put you in touch and
give you more more access. I think

601
00:47:31.360 --> 00:47:37.039
second is is really look at look
at who's around you again. There's there's

602
00:47:37.119 --> 00:47:40.599
need everywhere today more than ever.
And and so if there is a nonprofit

603
00:47:40.719 --> 00:47:45.280
organization again that you can partner with, that you can help that you can

604
00:47:45.599 --> 00:47:50.440
sort of go beyond the check writing. I think that is that is fantastic

605
00:47:50.480 --> 00:47:53.679
and I think if everyone does that
clearly, we will be in a better

606
00:47:53.719 --> 00:47:59.400
place. And unfortunately, there is
no better time than now to to provide

607
00:47:59.400 --> 00:48:04.239
that level of purpose and support.
Beautiful, we're so close and say thirty

608
00:48:04.280 --> 00:48:07.239
seconds are less stable. What would
you like to leave our listeners and viewers

609
00:48:07.239 --> 00:48:14.000
with today? I think follow your
passion and if your passion also happens to

610
00:48:14.039 --> 00:48:17.239
be purpose, even better. Wow. That was Chris. Thank you,

611
00:48:17.559 --> 00:48:22.719
Davill. It is an extreme honor
for me to share you with our listeners

612
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and viewers and help them understand the
work that they're doing in the world and

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who they too can become. So
thank you so much for being my guest.

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Thank you for the opportunity, and
thank you to all your listeners around

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00:48:32.039 --> 00:48:37.920
the world. I really really appreciate
us having this platform absolutely and we've been

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00:48:37.960 --> 00:48:42.639
alluding to this before. If you
want to learn more about Dabel Sengavi and

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00:48:42.679 --> 00:48:45.480
the work he and his team are
doing, it Dasra. Their website is

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00:48:45.679 --> 00:48:49.920
Dazra dot org. Let me spell
it for you, d like David as

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00:48:50.280 --> 00:48:53.239
r a dot org Dazra dot org. Last week, if you missed the

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00:48:53.239 --> 00:48:55.960
live show, you can always catch
it be recorded podcast. We're on there

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00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:00.559
with doctor Hollywoods, the author of
The Golden Thread, and were learning about

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00:49:00.559 --> 00:49:05.480
how purpose is expressed differently over our
life stages as we develop consciousness. Very

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00:49:05.559 --> 00:49:08.199
enriching conversation. Next week, we'll
be on the air with Cynthia Forrtzman talking

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00:49:08.199 --> 00:49:12.480
about her work with archetypes, which
she uses as a framer to help build

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00:49:12.559 --> 00:49:16.679
leaders, companies, brand and culture. Promised to be yet another fantastic conversation.

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00:49:16.760 --> 00:49:20.000
See you there. Remember that works
at least a third of our life.

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00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:28.639
So let's work on purpose. We
hope you've enjoyed this week's program.

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00:49:28.960 --> 00:49:31.719
Be sure to tune in to Working
on Purpose, featuring your host, doctor

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00:49:31.760 --> 00:49:37.400
Elise Cortes, each week on the
Voice America Empowerment Channel. Together, we'll

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00:49:37.440 --> 00:49:45.800
create a world where business operates conscientiously, Leadership inspires impassioned performance, and employees

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are fulfilled in work that provides the
meaning and purpose they crave. See you

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00:49:50.480 --> 00:49:52.679
there, Let's work on Purpose.