A look at Pranama Moorthy’s long association with Aidha as he completes seven years as a volunteer.!

Written by: Sarah Reeve

Pranama Moorthy has been living in Singapore for nearly 13 years and has been volunteering with Aidha for more than half that time. He has worked with Credit Suisse for almost ten years and is currently focusing on global markets and data analytics.

Recently we were thrilled that Pranama’s contribution to Aidha was acknowledged by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and he was awarded the HeForShe Everyday Hero Award on 8th June 2017! He was recognised for his commitment and passion to achieving financial literacy for foreign domestic workers. Pranama’s passion for Aidha is mirrored by a real sense of gratitude. “My Aidha experience has been thoroughly enriching. I have learnt a lot from the students over the past seven years and it has helped me become a better human being”.

Pranama, a proud recipient of “HeForShe Everyday” Award

Sharing a long history with Aidha, Pranama has seen and experienced much of the organisation’s growth. When he was introduced to Aidha in 2010, Module 2 had just been introduced. Amidst a shortage of Module 2 mentors, Pranama readily signed up as mentor for Venture Club, Advanced Leadership Club, and also supported computer workshops.

Pranama Moorthy surrounded by his students who he mentored for 9 months

Pranama started teaching Module 2 classes in 2011 and has since mentored six batches. Mentoring for over seven years, Pranama’s list of favourite memories and student stories is far too long to recall. However, the story of Nilushika Silva, a student in his first batch, stays fresh in his mind. Talking about this star alum, he says, “I was thrilled to watch Nilu’s transformation from a shy, reserved woman to an energetic, independent, self-motivated and self-made entrepreneur”.

Pranama mentored Nilushika (far right) and was amazed by her incredible growth

Pranama has trained and ‘buddied’ new mentors as they begin their journey at Aidha. Recalling it as a joyful experience, he says, “The experience of interacting with so many like-minded mentors has been enriching”.

Pranama was a part of the panel from Alumni Development Programme (ADP) Big Pitch whom he mentors Ms. Janet Bermudez Bisares for a year who  is planning to set up a Junk Recycling store in the Philippines

The experienced mentor’s words of wisdom for new mentors are to dedicate quality time to prepare for classes, and to keep them as interactive as possible. “Students not only dip into their savings to attend classes, but also spend their valuable day off to learn,” he notes.  He stresses on the duty of mentors to ensure classes are well facilitated to quench the students’ thirst for business education.

Smile! Pranama and his students from his last batch…