www.womanthismonth.com November 2018 31 PEOPLE | interview differing opinions and that made me feel lonely.” These days, the group has grown to 85,000 members with a team of 40 on call to offer advice and support 24/7. And Adhunika says: “I keep reiterating to my team that we’re all doing our best for our children, and I don’t want anyone feeling that they’re not, or others feeling that they’re doing better.” The group has members from the Indian diaspora, and others from across the world but primarily from the sub-continent, and they are a diverse group, from professionals to stay-at-home mums. “But, they’re all women who’ve had that feeling of helplessness,” says Adhunika. In February, Facebook announced its Community Leadership Programme. Adhunika applied and, last month, was delighted to discover she was among five chosen from 6,000 entrants to become a community leader – giving her potential access to the massive funding to grow her programme. She says: “To be honest, it hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s a huge responsibility and I know I have to make plans to use it wisely and come up with a proper strategy. I would like for us to have better before-birth education at the antenatal stage because, once the baby comes along, it’s ‘hello sleep deprivation’. “I’d like to have more meetup groups – we previously had them in 12 cities in three countries: India, Australia and the UAE, and would like to revive them. And more breastfeeding education in hospitals in India. “I’d also really like to reach out to the rural segment in India, but we need to look at how feasible that is – anything new always comes with resistance, even more so when it’s an initiative by a woman. Whatever I do, I want it to be sustainable, to grow over time. “For now, though, I’m looking at all the options and just feeling incredibly grateful.” At the Mashable Social Good event in evenSummit Selfie with Sheryl Sandberg Banu Malek
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