#14thJuly2017

And the old woman said "Take my advice girl!! When people throw stones at you just give them back that beaming smile of yours. Your integrity and honesty will do the needful. Shine on. Smile on.: Sonali Patnaik From my recent visit to our project area- Baliyasan village of Mehsana.

#23rdApril2017 
And the old wise woman said to me- " Don't be prisoner to mistakes, failures or taunts of those who undermine you. Fly on the wings of your belief, faith, inspiration, dreams and change the world, for the path of truth always has obstacles. Rise again, fight again and never give up." And I said to myself- Ahh! Like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, why not.
#SonaliPatnaik

03rd April 2016

Faith in an unfathomable supreme power or energy and faith in ones own courage, determination, perseverance and hardwork makes the seemingly impossible possible. And I also feel that the time or pace for achieving the impossibly possible would vary from person to person.

It takes two to tango. Teamwork is so important. There are certain actions or activities that cannot be performed alone or can be done better if more than one person put in their heads , minds or might together. It's also about participation. Deliverables are better when two people participate and are equally responsible for the actions or communication to follow and reach desired goals. A lot of work cannot happen in isolation. So it takes two to tango and at times more than two too. - Sonali Patnaik

Let each drop. aggregate into a river and then an ocean of knowledge, enriched with experiences, evidences and actions that transform lives in a possitive way and turn barriers into stepping stones shaping new ways of doing things and bringing in good change

We live without limits to explore new things and new opportunities which maybe risky, but these are things we haven't done before, that need courage, that maybe difficult and we may have fear of doing , but then there is an abundance of positive energy in the universe which helps in pursuing our dreams, facing fear, dreaming and learning and moving on..a never ending journey......where few of us live this way..those who do our blessed. And these are things that pull us out of our comfort zone.

 

Sonali Patnaik : Professional Profile

Sonali Patnaik,

Director, Arupa Mission Research Foundation

Sonali is a gold medalist in Anthropology (Physical) with 17 years of experience in the development sector working towards social transformation and change. She is also an MBA (HR) and M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences. Certified in Gender Budgeting, Socio-Economic Impact Assessment and as a National Family Health Survey trainer, her work spans across different dimensions of determinants of food security and health ( nutrition, gender, WASH, livelihoods- farm/non-farm, institutional strengthening, human resources, ICTs, governance, disaster management among others). Having worked in India and United Kingdom she bridges Government, Business & Civil Society initiatives, CSR-implementation & advisory, brings together like minded people who believe in food and nutrition security as an essential primer to holistic wellbeing.

She worked as a Social/Institutional Development Specialist/ Consultant with NGOs, International Donors, Funders, Externally Aided Projects (World Bank, DFID, Action Aid India- Swabhiman, UNWFP-WFP Govt. of Orissa, Oxfam GB East India), consulting firms (CTRAN, TARU Leading Edge Pvt. Ltd., NRMC, Louis Berger), Research Organisations (University of Reading, United Kingdom and Asian Institute of Public Health), various State Governments & Central Ministries on behalf of different institutions. Currently, she is Director, Arupa Mission Research Foundation.

Sonali specializes in policy analysis, creating an enabling environment, evidence based research, theory of change, strategic planning, monitoring & evaluation, impact assessments, planning, social & institutional development, studies, safeguard frameworks, Strategic Environment & and Social Assessments, Resettlement Action Plans, Socio-Economic Vulnerability & Risk Assessments, project implementation plans, designing country/ region specific programmes, capacity building & training need assessments, training, knowledge management, stakeholder management, consultation, disability, disaster and livelihoods.

Her contributions to the health sector in Odisha include NFHS-3 (trainer, research & monitoring), consultant to health institutions and health sector reforms (DFID-BTAST), as an anthropologist she researched on sickle cell anaemia & ABO incompatibility among tribes, worked in remote tribal pockets on food security, livelihoods initiatives for WFP and others. At Pan India level, she designed Monitoring Evaluation & Learning frameworks (health & education) - Oxfam’s country strategy, UNICEF’s Communication Capacity Assessment, Govt. Depts. -for BCC (MoHFW, NACO, ICDS, Water, Sanitation, Rural Development), facilitated in developing Urban WASH promotion training module for urban functionaries (PFI/USAID)-Health for Urban Poor Project, State of Panchayat Report (Gujarat, Daman & Diu) for NRMC, TARU, Panchayati Raj Ministry (including health).

Arupa Mission Research Foundation received recognition under her leadership as one among top 20 Non Profits of South Asia (E NGO summit, 2015) for its child empowerment programme- SAISHAV (health, education & digital learning, child abuse prevention, child protection, WASH, CBDRM) and farmer training using ICTs. Now partners with corporates for prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplaces (OMAX Autos Ltd. T Cube Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Brahmani River Pellets Limited Orissa of STEMCOR group, UK). She cofounded a startup-  Quadraphic Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (IT -mobile apps, portals, software /other services, Staffing & Recruitment, Skill development & Capacity Building); Member of Livestock Development Group, University of Reading UK contributing to livestock & livelihoods research, ICTs, Research into Use. Sonali has many publications to her credit.