27 October 2014
Greenpeace India has been empowering people in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, to stand up for their rights and preserve the forest and their livelihoods from coal mining
Today at sixty-two, when I look back on my life, I find my journey has been an eventful one. Driven by a desire to discover the unknown, I have always been thrilled at the idea of exploring new spaces, doing new things, taking on yet another challenge.
After living the secure and cocooned childhood of a small town boy in Bangalore, I journeyed to Jamaica in 1971, at the age of nineteen, to begin a career in retail trading. I learnt to trade in goods that ranged from general merchandise to FMCG.
In 1976 my business interests took me to the African continent, and I started a wholesale and retail trading business in Cameroon. As the business consolidated, I travelled extensively on work to Uganda, the Congo (where I lived for 12 years) the Far East, Europe, and the United States.
The political instability in Cameroon made me move my family back to the safer environment of India (Bangalore) in 1992, but I continued to live and work in the African countries till 2009, undaunted by the politically unstable and dangerous environment, rough terrain and alien culture.
After a successful career in trading for 4 decades it was time to retire and head home to my family, but when I returned to Bangalore in 2009, I found I was not ready to hang up my boots.
I started looking for yet another adventure, and when I chanced upon the Greenpeace website, Greenpeace beckoned. I walked into the Greenpeace office and met Arindam Biswas and Teju Erappa. I had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew I was ready.
A week later, after a round of interviews, when I was told I had a job in Teju’s quality team in the tele-fundraising department. I plunged in with a fresh adrenaline rush. And it has been three-and-a-half years of learning, growth, involvement and commitment.
In my first year with Greenpeace when I drove 4000 kms to Singrauli and back with my colleagues Sumant, Akash, Rina, and Preetinder, to participate in the “Forest and Not Coal” campaign, I knew my journey into activism had begun.
We were working for a cause, saving the livelihood of about 15,000 tribals by stopping their relocation from the land they had been living on for generations. We were also working to stop the destruction of the tiger reserves in the region, conserve biodiversity, wildlife and green cover, and thus prevent climate change and global warming. The campaign was a great success and attracted huge media coverage. And I have been an activist since.
In 2012, I participated as a peacekeeper in the Greenpeace campaign against Apple, urging them to go green, and stop using coal energy to run their iCloud. I was proud to be part of this international campaign. My spirit of activism has enthused me to convince individuals to support us to change the incorrect policies of both the government and corporate houses.
In March 2014, I was promoted from a quality analyst in the fundraising department to the post of Key Donor Officer (KDO). I so passionately believe in the work Greenpeace does to save and protect the environment that I do not find it difficult to convince people to believe in and contribute to our cause.
I want to convince as many people as I can that we must conserve the environment in the present to ensure a future for the world. I want them to believe in and contribute to our campaigns to protect and save our environment from the policies of the short-sighted.
I thoroughly enjoy my work as a KDO as I get to meet and interact with people from all walks of life - IT, Medicine, Business, Finance, Theatre, Cinema, Fashion, etc. I have learnt so much with my interactions with them.
Working with my young colleagues at Greenpeace has been an interesting learning for me, be it in the field of computers and knowledge of TFR operations, or simple lessons in the joy of life. Their youthful exuberance and joie de vivre is contagious.
My service to Greenpeace for nearly three-and-a-half years now has been an opportunity to give back to the community, and preserve the environment for the future generations. I feel privileged to be a part of the team at Greenpeace and the great work being done all over the world.
Nanik Balani is a Key Donor Officer with Greenpeace India