The Core Group!

It is an institution in the foundation, harking back to our earliest days, when the CG was comprised of Paula, Linda, Aparna, Manju and me. We met religiously every Tuesday and the original idea was that the session would last only 15 minutes: a power meeting for which everyone would come prepared and decisions would be taken at lightening speed.

But we enjoyed each other’s company so much, and we had so much to say to each other that the 15-minute rule never quite took off.

Over the years we came to accept that a two hour meeting once a week would be the norm and it got so we couldn’t do without it.

But we keep refining it and every now and then we come up with a stroke of genius.

The latest was to rotate its location.

Until about five weeks ago, we always met wherever my office was. The new idea is to hold the meeting in each project – a different one every week. Why had this never occurred to us before?

The Satellite EIC, which many of us had never even seen (SO far away – Defence Colony!), the school, (when is the last time you were there?), Latika Vihar (What? It’s at 135 Vasant Vihar now???), the CVT (they have a fancy meeting room!With a couch and easy chairs, and these amazing waiters and waitress who used to be little kids at KV School and are now all grown up and serving fruit salad) . . .

Immediately, a change came about in the dynamic of the meeting. Suddenly the presence of the children became more apparent. Even though we have our meetings  in the afternoons when the kids are gone, being in their space – sitting at their tables (knees to our ears), seeing their toys all around the room – made us more aware of what we were really talking about. And the coordinator of the project where we were meeting seemed to grow in stature and authority in her/his own territory. They are the experts. The rest of us are learners. We have almost completed the full cycle now – the training centre is next and then we begin all over again at Latika Vihar.

It makes me think about the power of a small change. Sometimes all it takes to achieve awareness is one little adjustment, one little detail: looking people in the eye, remembering to use their names, introducing every staff member when a new person visits the office. Holding a child by the hand rather than by the wrist. Keeping in mind the “hard battle” everyone is facing.

And of course, there are always new opportunities for fun:

Manju discovered the ball box at the EIC meeting on Thursday and has already made plans to build one at the training centre!