Nexus of Good: Embracing progression

Irfan was born in Mumbai in 1990, but he moved to Ahmedabad soon after due to financial struggles, aiming for a better future. Since then, he lived in Karachi, Hyderabad, and returned to Ahmedabad, navigating through the challenges of an unhealthy environment, as his parents were going through a separation. One striking observation about his parents was that they seemed stuck in life and had not moved on. Witnessing their situation, Irfan consciously decided that he would not let himself get stuck. If he could not soar, at least, he would take small steps forward.

Education became the only escape route he could envision of to break free from the hardships of his childhood and its challenges. His parents didn’t have to pay his school fee since grade 8, relying mostly on scholarships and generous donations from friends and teachers. Despite these obstacles, he successfully completed his engineering degree, becoming one of the first graduates in his family from the renowned Maharaja Sayajirao University. Following graduation, he secured a position at Tata Technologies Ltd. and relocated to Pune.

However, he soon realised that childhood traumas lingered, persisting in the mind even when he was physically distanced. Despite the positive changes in his life, he grappled with anxiety, questioning whether he deserved the goodness that came his way. Amidst these doubts, he recognised the need to move on rather than remain stuck. Attempting various avenues like socialising and going out for drinks proved ineffective. Remembering his fondness for teaching, which he had done since a young age, he decided to volunteer, choosing a path that resonated with him.

Soon, he enrolled as a volunteer in the after-school programme of the Akanksha Foundation, spending his mornings working with children. While teaching, he found solace, as it became a form of meditation for him. Subsequently, he discovered the Teach for India fellowship programme, applied, and was fortunate to be selected.

For two years, he dedicated himself to teaching grade 3 and 4 students in a low-income school in Ahmedabad. Despite the prevailing opinion among most friends and family that this shift—from a well-paid job to teaching lower grades with lower pay—was his worst decision, those two years proved to be profoundly transformative. Working with children from the most marginalised areas, he gleaned invaluable lessons about life, which became an integral part of his healing journey.

One significant revelation was that life's challenges are not a form of divine punishment, but rather an inherent part of existence. Learning to respond to these challenges became a crucial aspect of his personal growth. While traumatic situations initially felt paralysing, he believed they could also serve as catalysts for positive change. Given the chance to heal, they transform into opportunities to contemplate life's larger purpose.

Materialistic pursuits cease to be the prime consideration, and one starts contemplating how to contribute to alleviating others' pain. For some, this may involve sports, music, or travel, but for him, it was teaching coding to children. Although he had harboured a fondness for computers since childhood, he never had the opportunity to learn them. Perhaps this played a role in the inception of an organisation aimed at introducing children to computers and coding—a means to equip them with valuable skills for a brighter future.

In 2018, Irfan founded Code to Enhance Learning (CEL), a nonprofit dedicated to imparting 21st-century skills to children in grades 4-9 through coding. During the scorching summer in Ahmedabad that year, he visited approximately 100 schools in an attempt to form collaborations and initiate programmes. Unfortunately, he encountered resistance and reluctance. Undeterred, he decided to kick off the programme with a few children to keep the momentum going.

Presently, CEL operates in over 10 districts across Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Lucknow, impacting nearly 50,000 students in government and affordable schools involving around 550 teachers. The programme serves in some of the most under-served and rural areas in partnership with district-level government bodies. The team members co-create coding curriculum, set up model labs for stakeholder investment and support district in large-scale implementation of the programme through teacher training and advocacy.

Whenever Irfan sought progress, people and opportunities seemed to emerge, propelling him forward. During the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, when he lost work in all schools for three months, reaching out to an educator in Ahmedabad led to a renewed flow of opportunities.

In another instance, when CEL's growth seemed stagnant despite Irfan’s dedicated 10-hour workdays, he sought solace in a meditation course in Himachal. There, a fellow participant, sensing his concerns, shared three invaluable life lessons. These lessons resonate with him to this day: always have a purpose larger than yourself, maintain discipline with consistent actions toward that purpose, and cultivate gratitude for what you have, regardless of the circumstances.

In April 2017, he published a book called ‘Code (with Scratch) to Enhance Learning’, a pocket-friendly resource to help teachers and beginners to start learning to code.

Irfan looks forward to learn new things and strongly embraces empathy, integrity and grit. Besides education, the conversation about leadership, skill development, mental well-being and entrepreneurship energises him.

Irfan presents a wonderful example of Nexus of Good. He was not deterred by the adversities in his life. He has gone on to set up a model that is not only replicable but scalable through public-private partnership.

Views expressed are personal