touch with the rawness of a culture which he is then able to effectively share it with people across boundaries i guess this is what truly means to be local think global did mamidipudis efforts make a contribution to the vayalis community i may not have greatly impacted the project due to time constraints i was however able to make a few changes in my capacity with my interaction with the youth i was able to inspire them to dream big and work towards their goals im still in touch with most of them and recently one guy phoned saying he had given up smoking and started computer classes what has the learning been with his stint in rural community my biggest learning from the community has been that no matter how much hardships one faces collective responsibility helps people survive anything i also understood the ground realities involved in running a selfsustainable organisation this opportunity gave me the courage to turn down job offers from mncs because i was not in alignment with their values in my present company i have the freedom to choose the project i want to work on this fellowship has been an eye opener to help me prioritise my goals i now chose to work on projects that have a larger social impact in general eligibility criterion it will do the candidate good to highlight any previous leadership experience she should have previously worked with an ngo and show a willingness to contribute to the developmental sector in the future concludes mamidipudi myeducationtimescom