The System is Asking Us for Trust.
Sometimes it feels like the system is not asking us for another “program”… the system is asking us for trust . And I feel this every single time I sit with government officers—whether it’s Delhi, Punjab, or Uttarakhand. There is always a quiet heaviness in the room: too much work pressure, too many expectations, and very little time. On top of that, there is a constant “performance” burden—targets, reviews, reports, compliance. Officers are living inside that weight every day. So when a civil society partner enters the system, the system’s first question is not really, “What will you do?” The real question is deeper: Will you understand our reality? Will you stay with us? Will you become one more project that leaves? Because the system is tired of ideas.The system is tired of pilots.The system is tired of fancy words. What the system needs is companionship . It needs saath —someone to walk with it. Most of the time, when civil society partners come in, we come with our best i...