January 24, 2023

Jasmine Sethi | The Humanitarian Clique

Our upcoming collaborative projects include working with international nonprofit organizations such as Ssstart in India and Orange Butterflies (previously recognized as Women Empowerment Center) in Nepal. Additionally, we will be holding more workshops in the new year and donation drives such as for Indigenous communities, and in support of the food bank and homeless shelters. This fall, we will be launching a leadership program and all the details will be shared on our official organization’s website and social media platforms.

HOW DID YOU GET HERE?

I created this platform during the COVID-19 pandemic amid the lockdown protocols when I was employed on contract, full-time with the Canadian Red Cross. I was working remotely, assisting evacuees impacted by the Alberta floods during the pandemic and helping other organizations gain access to personal protective equipment (PPE]). With 24/7 access to technology, I became part of this remarkable movement to make an ‘e-social impact’ when I was helping evacuees register for the assistance programs, helping individuals and families affected by the Alberta floods, and assisting beneficiaries with gaining access to the financial mass assistance programs in addition to helping organizations with accessing PPE. This left a lasting impression because I realized the extraordinary impact that can be made with access to technological tools, software, applications, communication channels, and an urge to be a changemaker, doesn’t matter remote or in-person or small or major change because we all can make an impact in some way. It is ultimately about our mindset and how productively we can turn an obstacle into an opportunity by investing our valuable time and effort. Lockdown was a time for reflection: Pause. Reflect. Rejuvenate. New Goals. The idea of making a lasting e-social impact through digital platforms was so captivating and inspirational which then led me to launch my own small-to-medium-scale remote nonprofit organization that views complex social problems with an intersectional lens in a predominantly research-focused humanitarian sector, with a holistic approach.

WHAT DO YOU STAND FOR? WHY IS THIS WORK IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Being authentic and authoring my leadership. This work has been my best investment in terms of covering overhead expenses, leadership in a position of an executive board member, and management of time, human and technical capacity. The work that I do has provided me a clarity and a sense of purpose as I’m putting my authentic self out there in the public eye. This work is highly valuable to me because as a research-based organization, my vision is to give an opportunity to everyone, disregarding age, gender, social class, immigration status, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. It is to create their own narrative on a range of innovative subjects such as mental health, human and animal rights, international aid, refugee law, indigenous communities, global warming, homelessness, food insecurity, and discrimination, and no topic is off limits. My purpose is to create my own narratives and storytelling that propels change in the contemporary world and look at social complex problems from an intersectional lens.

WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?

The impact is evident as this platform has been highly successful in community outreach both at a national and international scale. We are operating globally as many people are reaching out to us through networking, word of mouth, Charity Village, and LinkedIn to become a part of our team, such as from India, Nepal, Nigeria, Canada, Peru, Ireland, and Syria. This is remarkable because our organization abides by three core principles of diversity, accessibility, and inclusion. We have started working with people with lived experiences of disabilities and ensuring that our remote organization is becoming even more virtually accessible such as Zoom meeting settings and using accessibility search engine optimization features and alt-text image descriptions. This is a step towards increasing our reach at a global scale but we realize that there is more to do which is why we will continue making every effort going forward to make our remote organization more inclusive for all. Further, we will make every effort to ensure that everyone feels included in part of a constructive and valuable conversation in sharing distinctive lived experiences in every language possible.

WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO DO THIS WORK?

My team inspires me. When I started my own NGO, I didn’t realize the bigger impact it will make at an individual level, connecting with so many inspirational people from around the world is definitely a profound learning experience. A sense of purpose inspires me every single day. The purpose is integral to my success because it allows me to see everything from a unique lens through which I see an array of innovations in the contemporary digitally dominant era. I strongly believe it’s all in the mindset. Reading self-development books inspires me, such as the books I’m currently reading are Believe and Achieve authored by W. Clement Stone, and Napoleon Hill and Becoming the Best by Harry Kraemer. I am a strong believer in self-development; therefore, I wake up every single day inspired because I know I am making an e-social impact in some form.

WHAT’S YOUR VISION, YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?

My vision is to constantly increase our organization’s presence globally because diversity equals diversity of thought and innovation. It is commendable to be connected with people with a range of human differences, including but not limited to people with different lived experiences, race, social class, sexual orientation, distinctive ideologies, physical ability or attributes, religious or ethical values system, national origin, political beliefs, culture, and ethnicity. Additionally, my big dream is to make this one of the most significant nonprofit publications sectors, expand its outreach amongst both mainstream and marginalized communities, and work with other start-up organizations. With the launch of Project D-52, I aspire to work with disability influencers and people with lived experiences of both visible and invisible disabilities to initiate a dialogue about digital accessibility and the reform that must be made for Gen Z, Gen X, Millennials, and future generations. My vision is for a more inclusive and accessible digital environment in a non-discriminatory space. My vision is also to work with rather small-scale educational institutions, and start-up organizations in remote regions because I believe we will connect better in terms of progressive collaborative efforts and capacity-building resources.

WHAT CHALLENGES ARE YOU FACING?

Overall, there is a lack of support for start-up organizations in the humanitarian sector such as leadership support and management of overhead expenses. As the founding leader with a small core management team, we are progressing but external support and sponsorship programs for start-ups especially within the nonprofit context will be highly valued and appreciated.

WHAT’S ONE THING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CAUSE AND/OR THE WORK YOU’RE DOING?

A key takeaway for the readers is to follow the principle of the 2% mindset originally created by Dan Bernardin. The principle of 2% demonstrates that 98% of the population are being like everyone else, living in their comfort zone, struggling with insecurity, living in fear, just getting by, procrastinating to complete tasks, and settling for less. However, the 2% of the population has a growth-orientated leadership mindset which means:

• Achieving all the dreams
• Increase level of self-confidence
• Choosing happiness and fulfillment
• Embracing the unknown
• Excitement and liking change
• Thinking outside-the-box ideas
• Fulfillment and acting despite fear

To emphasize, the key takeaway for the readers is that we are not saying that being in the 98% or 2% category is better or worse; rather we want you to focus on being progressive in life and just show up. Every individual reflects a quality of leadership and this opportunity wants to bring out the best version of yourself because we want you to envision the future for yourself. To be so clear enough as this way this provides the “capacity to walk a path towards the future with great confidence and fosters shared values because we all know where we are heading” and be forward-looking [Kouzes, J. 2011). Be dynamic and optimistic leaders. We want you to showcase the best version of yourself and be the captain of your storytelling, which can be an impactful experience or writing about social justice, policy reform, opinionated piece, or content that reflects philanthropic and altruistic values.

It is the truth that e-social impact is possible with an innovative and growth mindset. We have initiated a platform, rather a dialogue that challenges one to question their identity and repeatedly asks: what more am I capable of? During the interviews, the most common response to the question, “why do you want to volunteer with us?” is that they want to be a part of an innovative platform like this one, to get involved in something bigger that challenges their creativity. Our organization instills the idea that you are the captain of your own narrative and with this idea, I want to build credibility and provide value to being authentic in becoming a captain of storytelling that lights people up: all you need is a growth mindset!

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE OR WORDS OF INSPIRATION TO SHARE?

“So much of starting a business or effecting change boils down to having the confidence and courage to simply try.” – Simon Sinek.

HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?

As bestselling authors, Kraemer and Jai write that from launch-to-scale, divided into three buckets, that [i] ‘relates to the idea itself’ so that is a competitive advantage; [ii] second “encompasses teams management and [iii] contains the funding and ‘money related matters’ which symbolizes that all the core three ideas are interconnected with each other. Others can support my cause by trusting that it’s an impactful platform with an emphasis on diversity and inclusion on a global scale. Others can support us by becoming a part of our dialogue and creating their own narrative through storytelling in this innovative non-discriminatory platform. If you are interested in becoming a part of this innovative movement, you can contact us as we are looking to expand our management and social researchers team on a global scale.

At Orapin, we believe those who are working for the greater good should be known, supported, and celebrated. We give purpose-driven organizations that want to do PR the strategy, resources, and support they need to get started so they can increase awareness and expand their impact. If would like to be featured in INSPIRED IMPACT™, reach out to hello@orapinmarketing.com.