- By 2015 Fellow Ankush Upreti

How TFN?

There are moments in life when we feel that the safari we are into and the destination we thrive for are a bit like a pair of parallel lines. What we want to and what we are doing may not always seem logical as 2+2=4 but perhaps life's equation is not as simple as 2+2 and 4, is it? Before baffling the entire world with his impeccable batting, AB de Villiers tried everything from rugby, tennis to golf.  All these "seems like" out of track things made him no lesser batsman; instead made him a better athlete and added value to his cricketing career.

I always dreamt and still dream of being a hotshot restaurant owner. Being a very successful businessman, giving guest lectures in business schools on mantras of success, being covered in reputed business magazines once in a while- all these are my fantasies. My dream was fostered and nourished during my undergraduate life at KUSOM where I probably got the best possible mentors, built networks and learned the technicalities of doing business. I was all set to be unleashed in the restaurant industry. But this picture perfect ambition of mine had its moment of picture like twists.

My first encounter with Teach for Nepal was through Kantipur daily. Flipping around the black and white pages I saw a very colorful and profound advertisement. As a student of advertisement, I always liked to scrutinize the advertisements, trying to pin point the flaws and thinking how it could have been much better. But that advertisement probably was the best as it could be; such a perfect blend of both logical and emotional appeal; appropriate for both verbalizers and visualizers. Thanks to the power of marketing, I was now a victim of halo effect.

By then, I had realized that opening a restaurant was not an easy walk down the park. I was shy of money, short of investors and lacked experience. I accepted the fact that I had to halt my dream for at least couple of years. Thus, I had to switch to "plan B". I had plenty of plan B options. I had lucrative offerings from reputed companies, I could've gone abroad or persuaded MBA. I liked the TFN idea too but I'd never given it a serious thought till then because it didn't seem to align with my degree and my wish for my personal future.

Everyone has his godfather kind of figure in life. One who either makes it or breaks it for you. For me, my grandfather was one. He always wanted me to work in villages so that I could understand my country better. He once in a very "I mean it" tone told me "look, nothing’s going to stop you from being a notable businessman. You'll definitely get your MBA degree and even more sooner or later. One thing you might not achieve is the satisfaction of working in village, satisfaction of bringing smiles among people who rarely smile and satisfaction of understanding your country. So, if possible, for now do something that serves for a larger cause because your individual causes are running nowhere."

That was it. I got a reason to join TFN. I wanted to join from the day I saw its advertisement but I was always afraid about what others would think. But my grandpa’s words were good enough for me to overcome those fear and my journey to and with TFN kick started.

My quest for Why?

I got placed in Nagrain VDC, Dhanusha district for my Fellowship of 2 years. The village lied in the southernmost part of the district, just 3kms away from the border. It was a complete alien place for me to begin with. Unfamiliar people, unfamiliar language, unfamiliar territory and unfamiliar culture. But it didn't take me long to gel with all those unfamiliarities as I always recognized the fact that the place was part of my country and the people were my people regardless of the differences in language and other ways of living. So, the place and its attributes never troubled me during the fellowship.

After couple of months of fellowship one thing that began to bother me a lot; infact haunted me throughout the first six months was my "WHY?"  My grandfather did give me reason to join TFN, did ignite my desire to join TFN but was it durable enough? Was it strong enough to motivate me to toil in such heat each and every day? Sadly, not. As a Fellow, I could list the core values of TFN, I could share the vision of TFN but did I honestly live by those values and visions? Was I selfless enough to serve the community and children keeping my convenience at stakes? Sadly, not. Whenever I was back in Kathmandu, I avoided meeting people as I got taunted by them now and again. "What? BBA? KUSOM? Teacher? Village? Rs 15,000? Restaurant? You've gone nuts?" Add to that the glittering streets, skyscrapers and the beaches of America, Canada, Australia got frequently posted on the Facebook that served as the testimony of friends' progress. I started to feel that I'd made a wrong choice and banks, corporate houses, hotels, MBAs, America were probably what I should've gone for. Thus, the first 6 months was a battle of being idealistic vs being practical.

I desperately needed my own "Why?" My "Why" that would align with my grandpa’s desire and TFN values but still would be very personal and original to myself. I needed a strong rational response to all those who always asked "What’s the point of going to village and wasting your 2 years despite being a business graduate? You have plenty of other attractive options."

My "Why" decoded

Despite being tangled in my search, I never compromised with my work ethics. I took my classes with all honesty and commitment, tried to serve and understand my community taking full responsibility.

Then came that random cold foggy day of Magh which plausibly turned out to be the most meaningful day of my 24 years’ living career. I was in Grade 6 teaching Maths. After teaching for about 20 minutes I abruptly and without any predetermined motive asked the students, "How many of you have your father or brother currently working abroad? Please raise your hand!" I didn't have any aim behind asking it, I just asked for the sake of information. But the response I received was an eye opener. The response gave me motive to my "Why?". In a class of 110 students there were 100 hands raised if not more. I was shell shocked.

Imagine 11/12-year-old kids who rarely can pronounce their own names properly screaming Qatar, Malaysia and Dubai with delight. Imagine 11/12-year-old kids who barely remember memories of the last 4 years saying their father is out of home since 6 years. And imagine the innocence of those kids who don't have an idea of the opportunity cost of their expensive clothes, toys, cemented homes and color TVs. At the age when the kids should be imagining about how the earth actually looks like they were probably imagining how their father or brother look like. That very day I realized my importance as a TFN fellow and my responsibility as a management graduate. I've promised myself to change this number. I've promised myself to impart my students with necessary knowledge and learning so that they are able to stay in their own country with a dignified job and life.

My transformation: Business Graduate to Socially Aware Business Graduate

Remittance was a very hot topic during 4 years of my bachelors. Ironically, my end semester research project was based on "Impact of Remittance on the Economy of Nepal". The results proved remittance as the boss. "Remittance worth 25% of GDP with 90% positive correlation". I then concluded that remittance was the life blood of Nepalese economy. But had I done my research after a year of fellowship, would my findings be the same? Definitely not. My topic would've been "Impact of Remittance on the Socioeconomic aspect of Nepal". This is what my fellowship has taught me. My fellowship has taught me to think deeper, consider all the facets before reaching to a conclusion. 25% of GDP sounds awesome but every 1% in that 25% represents thousands of kids whose forehead remains empty in Dashain. 90% positive correlation is again awesome but have we ever thought of the positive correlations between remittance and breaking family and social values? I as a mere BBA graduate would have never thought this way but I as a BBA graduate and a TFN fellow definitely think this way.

At the end of Kotler and Armstrong's definition of marketing there is a phrase "...to create customer delight". Then, I just memorized these lines for achieving good grades; now I internalize them. Fellowship has taught me to cherish smiles of others, it has made me experience how satisfying it is to see the satisfaction in someone else's face. If I now happen to open a restaurant, then "customer delight" will be on the top of my chart apart from profit. Had it not been for fellowship, I might have lived by "love it or leave it" attitude. Feedback of a single customer will be as of same value to me as that of 10 customers because my fellowship has taught me that the value of a kid is same as that of all the kids.

In these 15 months, I've learnt to be patient. I've learnt to listen to others. A co-fellow of mine, Rabindra Dahal summed it very well when he said "There is an employee in your restaurant who is arriving late since last few days. You, without fellowship, would have called him in your office, warned him and fired him if he arrived late the next day too. But you after fellowship, will now sit with him, offer him a cup of coffee and very politely ask him if everything is fine back home." We are business people and we will definitely do business but the fellowship inspires us to do ethical business and sort of business that has meaningful implications on lives of people.

During fellowship, there are so many opportunities on offer as a business or management student.  Market is defined as a set of potential customers without any geographical mentions. But we've restricted our market as Kathmandu, Pokhara and a few others. 2 years of fellowship provides us with hands-on experience to research new market opportunities. 2 years back, I would have never even thought of opening a branch of my restaurant in Madhesh, but now the idea seems interesting to me with some geographic and cultural customizations. Courtesy of fellowship.

Team work, ability to persuade and dissuade people, working under hostile conditions, performing in diversity, cultural relativism, ethical imperialism, risk and return- all these are important components of both management studies and fellowship. Thus, this commitment of 2 years no way means that I'm deviating 180 degrees from my discipline. Instead I'm enjoying a perfect platform where I implement my learning and also enhance my qualities as a leader.

And finally, management studies has slight edge over other branches of studies. You study law, you are destined for court. You study medicine, you have to land up in hospital. But if you study management, you can end up anywhere because of the versatility of the subject. So, it’s now time to decide whether we want to get into the same old pigeonhole of banks, money making business houses, show off organizations or use the flexibility that our degree offers us and do something that may look out of track but will end up being blessings in disguise.

2015 Fellow Ankush Upreti teaches in Rajeshwor Nidhi Higher Secondary School in Dhanusha.