When Megha Met With Manzil

Megha

I always had an aspiration to be financially independent, empowered with confidence and skills to achieve my dreams. My father is a cook, and my mother a housewife, managing multiple responsibilities of children and home. While in Class X in school, I heard about Manzil, a space to learn and discover one’s potential, beyond what schools taught us. I was excited to explore this opportunity.

However, I soon found out that classes in Manzil were suspended due to Coronavirus, and were being shifted to an online mode. I immediately enrolled for English classes at Manzil. Tulsi di was my first English teacher. In the beginning I was nervous and didn't have confidence to speak in English, but slowly with a supportive and conducive environment, I was becoming comfortable and started improving. I wasn't fond of reading, but with Tulsi di’s encouragement, I started reading and building up my vocabulary and comprehension skills. At Manzil, I was becoming more self-aware, building connections and gaining a newfound confidence to speak my mind and explore more learning opportunities.

Megha's class as a teacher

As an Arts student, I didn’t have any formal training in accounting. But I had always been intrigued by the subject and wanted to learn more. Manzil was a space without limitations, where one could learn and experience multiple skills from English, Computers, Math, Arts, Theater, Filmmaking, Music, Dance and so much more. I decided to enroll myself for Tally and Accounting classes. With constant support, guidance and encouragement from the teachers at Manzil, I was becoming good at accounting, a great achievement for an Arts student!

Megha, at work!

Further, with the help of Manzil I got a job opportunity as an accountant in a Water Supply Organization. This is my first job and is a perfect fit for my skills and future growth. Since I have joined, I have been learning new skills every day. I feel fortunate for my experiences at Manzil over the past 2 years, which have empowered me with so many essential life skills beyond traditional education.

Manzil even provided me with an opportunity to teach English to junior level classes, which helped me to express my thoughts and deepened my own knowledge of the subject. This has given me confidence both in teaching and speaking, reading and writing. Teaching while learning and learning while teaching has been an immensely fulfilling experience for me and has energized me with more rigor a determination to pursue my dreams.

Manzil also organizes personal and professional development sessions for students. Under this programme named Hello Zindagi, I learnt essential work skills like mailing, Google doc, Google sheet etc. As part of Hello Zindagi, we were also prepared for interviews. I learnt about goal orientation, the importance of small milestones as well as aiming big. It helped me appreciate and understand my own aspirations and develop greater clarity going forward. I also learnt about emotional intelligence and resilience as important success factors in life. Manzil has empowered me with necessary knowledge and skills and most significantly, life lessons that I will cherish all my life.

Written By Megha Ukay, HZ student and English teacher

Edited by Yashpal and Ashima, Volunteers