Women are gradually establishing themselves as leaders in entrepreneurship, administration, education, engineering, health, and other fields at the regional, national, and global levels. Education is crucial in shaping a woman into a leader; it is a long-term process. The process of achieving leadership with all the knowledge acquired does not end there. It is a true leader's quality to pass on knowledge and information to the younger generation to produce more and more leaders from the same land. In the same context, Prachi Mehrotra who had paved all the way to attain the position of leader hasn’t stopped knowledge transmission, but rather created a conducive environment for children to learn and cherish the knowledge.

In the spectra of education where there is the utmost importance to higher studies through various platforms, Kara4kids works to nurture education from an early age. Prachi Mehrotra is highly dedicated and working relentlessly to cater compendious knowledge in the field of early learning. To achieve this mission, she has introduced numerous interventions that facilitate the same. Through this platform, Prachi is looking forward toachieve the vision that aims at holistic development of the children.

In an exclusive interview with Women Entrepreneur Magazine, Prachi Mehrotra speaks about the professional journey and importance of education in the early childhood stage.

How has your education journey shaped you to be a leaderin the Education Gamut?

For the decade in between 8-18 years of my life, I studied in a boarding school in Mussorie and post schooling, I moved to the UK for my higher education in Management studies. My life experiences and learnings in these two phases have collectively had a profound impact in my life. I was exposed to many things in those phases of my life that ranged in between meeting different people, adjusting and adapting to different scenarios and being a part of a diversified group from teaching staff to the student groups, and learning experiences in a different education system, demographics and culture. The collective experience has taught me numerous life lessons that I still apply in my everyday life.

Diversity to my eye - is a point of learning and a context off growth. The core lesson for me has been the bit that learning is indeed a lifelong process. I believe that we learn and grow each day in our respective roles and as a business leader it’s this core thought that constantly drives my vision to consistently adapt to change and innovate new methodologies towards building a learning organisation that strives to serve its purpose with utmost zeal and passion.

Why according to you early education is important for children in the digital 21st century?

Few gaps still exist in the fields of early education, and it’s the need to fill in those blanks that is the answer of the hour. I am a strong believer of the bit – the stronger the start – the greater the finish. If the base is not strong enough to hold the density of higher education, it will eventually collapse. Early childhood learning is the very root where it all starts from and it is indeed imperative that equal importance is also given to the early nascent years off a child. Balance is the key. Innovative learning methods, physical attention, affection, building holistic environment and nurturing children with comprehensive education with the vision to keep the joy and spark of learning alive – in my eye is still the priority in the world of digital century.

As a Primary Leader in the organization, what are the different roles that you play daily basis?

As an Executive Director of the firm, I handle a multifacet role within the company that ranges in between handling operations, marketing, teaching pedagogy, expansion, implementation of teaching Interventions, and day to day management.Managingall our preschool and child care centers at the same time is the everdynamic challenge that I aim to keep up my pace with.

Where do you encounter pressing challenges in your professional journey and how do you tackle them?

Challenges are a part of all our lives and is a very subjective concept.On the whole - I feel challenges are as big as you picture them in your head. It completely relies on a person’s approach towards it and dealings around it because the intensity of the problem varies with time.However, the answer usually demands a conclusive adaptive approach that results in comprehensive and practical execution of solutions. Personally, the solution bit is exactly where I like to keep my focus on. Ofcourse, it’s important to study the root from where the challenge came but what’s even more crucial in the minutes after is – how you take it in with your team and empower each other to brainstorm and come up with constructive empowering solutions that suit the win-win scenario for all parties involved.

"It’s always the root that facilitates growth and eventually holds the might of a tree. Early education is that very pivotal root"

What is the significant milestone that you have achieved in your professional life?

Milestones for any business leader are an important part of our journey and growth. For me one such significant milestone in my professional life as the Executive Director for Kara4Kids would be – off how I have been able to steer and sail our boat around

through the turbulent waves in the COVIDtimes while retaining every staff + team member without compromising a single component on their pay scale through the phase.As we all know – the early education and child care industry took a massive hit as the pandemic struck. But we as an organisation – held onto our anchoring vision strongly and adapted to the waves quite smoothly. We obviously shifted our operations online but apart from that as situations kept evolving with the pandemic – we evolved with our programmes and offerings too. For examples – we also had programmes like KaraCare@Home running wherein we would send our team of educators and facilitators to residential societies and they would execute the learning experience in a protected social bubble environment. We also had a nanny support programme in place.

Even today – we have an exclusive offering off an emergency child care plan that caters to the hybrid working model that most of the working mothers are still into. Once we identify a gap that we can cater too we get around to doing it as soon as possible in the ways that is functionally beneficial for all parties involved.

Prachi Mehrotra, Executive Director, Kara4kids

The diversified knowledge that Prachi holds is leading to the transformative changes in the children from their nascent stage.The help of quality education that the organisation has imbibed and practical experiences are the key component of the inclusive growth of Kara4kids