Motherhood, coincidentally, is the common thread that connects the three Indian women chosen by Facebook recently for its first-ever Community Leadership Programme (CLP). Adhunika Prakash, Chetana Misra and Tamanna Dhamija are the only Indians among 115 people who were selected from over 6,000 applicants from around the world. The recognition infuses new energy into these women who have been driving separate Facebook communities that work closely with breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women and 'mompreneurs'.
The Facebook Community Leadership Programme is a global initiative to support leaders who have been building communities around the world, and helping bring the world closer. The programme aims to empower them with additional support, technical tools and funding. The participants will travel to the Facebook headquarters next week to attend an induction programme.
THE WEEK speaks to the three women about their journeys so far, and what keeps them going.
Adhunika Prakash (Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers): For Adhunika, the mission is simple—help newbie mothers through their breastfeeding journeys. When she set up the community Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM) in 2013, her target audience was mothers in Pune where she was based out of initially. Little had she anticipated it to grow into a community of over 80,000 people, providing peer support to breastfeeding mothers. Apart from answering queries posted by members and busting myths, the group also encourages its members to breastfeed in public. The group was a result of her own struggles with breastfeeding and the lack of accessible support available to new parents.
“When I started BSIM, all I hoped was that it would help new parents, and make their breastfeeding journey easier. I absolutely did not expect it to become so big, but I am extremely proud of it, and thankful to BSIM team that works relentlessly for so many hours altruistically.” The journey has not been easy for Adhunika, a mother of two, as she struggles to manage her family life and the needs of members of the community, which is non-funded. As she says, it works solely on the goodwill of passionate volunteers who are ready to put in the effort for the cause. “Working for a social cause can sometimes feel very thankless and it can also get very tiring,” she says. “Getting recognition from an organisation such as Facebook gives a huge boost to the morale of the entire team.” Adhunika, who was working in the IT sector before her first child was born, is also now a certified lactation educator and counsellor.
One of the five who have been chosen as 'residents' of the programme, Adhunika and her team will receive $10,00,000 to fund their community initiative. She hopes, with funding, she will be able to take the work to more mothers, and reach a regional audience too.
Chetana Misra (MompreneursIndia): When Chetana Misra took a break from work to be with her baby, she realised it wasn't that easy a task to get back to a full-fledged career. Understanding this plight very well, she set up MompreneursIndia in 2013, a community that helps women entrepreneurs chase their dreams. “There is a vast segment of educated women in the country who have left their jobs after childbirth, or taken a break. These talented women are looking for inspiration to set up something of their own,” she says.
On the platform, Chetana says, these women get connected with other women entrepreneurs who offer guidance. The volunteer-based platform is again a non-funded project. She clarifies that women who are members of the platform do not eye large scale businesses. Most of them are into creative businesses like handicrafts or handmade jewellery. Besides helping women entrepreneurs tackle issues like management of resources or financial planning, MompreneursIndia takes it a step forward by helping the users form a collaborative network of like-minded women to share knowledge and benefit from partnerships. “We operate under the fundamentals of collaboration. This is mostly about supporting and helping out each other,” she says.
Chetana has been picked as a 'fellow' of CLP, and is expected to receive $50,000 to fund the community initiative.
Tamanna Dhamija (Baby Destination): Tamanna was a New York-based finance professional before she moved to India and founded Baby Destination in 2016. The idea of Baby Destination came to her after her son was born and she went through issues faced by a new parent. “In India, there was a huge support gap that needed to be fixed. The vision was to make it a connected world of moms, and provide a community that provides information to expectant and newbie mothers,” she says.
In the age of nuclear families and working parents, Tamanna says there is a support system that is missing and women are plagued by many questions about childcare. A content-based platform, Baby Destination offers articles on baby care, nutrition, lifestyle, in five different languages. “We are the fastest growing community for women in India, and the growth has been organic. Through the website, Facebook closed groups and WhatsApp groups, we reach close to 1 crore moms every month,” says Tamanna.
“Getting such a global recognition so early in our journey, is a very humbling experience. This is also a great achievement for mothers,” says Tamanna. This support, she says, will go a long way and help with their vision to expand into tier-II and tier-III cities, and improve regional language penetration. Baby Destination, which raised funds through an angel funding last year, looks forward to improve content and do more for the community of mothers across the country. “We are just getting started, and we also look to expand to Southeast Asia with Facebook's help.”
