Startup Terminal
  • News
    • Technology
    • Funding
    • Tie-up
    • Acquisition
    • Australia Startup News
    • Singapore Startup News
    • India Startup News
    • UAE Startup News
    • UK Startup News
    • US Startup News
    • Launch
    • Video
  • Interview
  • Feature
  • Events
  • Variety
    • 40 Under 40 Award by Startup Terminal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Technology
    • Funding
    • Tie-up
    • Acquisition
    • Australia Startup News
    • Singapore Startup News
    • India Startup News
    • UAE Startup News
    • UK Startup News
    • US Startup News
    • Launch
    • Video
  • Interview
  • Feature
  • Events
  • Variety
    • 40 Under 40 Award by Startup Terminal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Startup Terminal
No Result
View All Result
Home Interview

International Women’s Day Interview: Usha Sundar, Co-Founder, Hi5 Youth Foundation

StartUp Terminal Bureau by StartUp Terminal Bureau
January 8, 2021
in Interview
0
International Women’s Day Interview:  Usha Sundar, Co-Founder, Hi5 Youth Foundation
163
SHARES
2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Name:
Usha Sundar
Age:
54
City:
Mumbai, India
Occupation:
Co-Founder, Hi5 Youth Foundation (hi5youthfoundation.com)




ST: Please
tell us briefly about you:
Usha:
Just like most women, I have worn many hats
in my entire life. Having had lot of experience as a fulltime mother, homemaker
I can definitely say giving attention to your children when they are young is
an absolute sacrifice one has to make. Slowly and steadily, I returned back to
graduate school in USA when my husband was doing his stint with his company’s
overseas operations and few startups there. When graduate school ended, started
work as a curriculum designer and instructor 
– again with flexible hours, so that I could see myself spending quality
time with my boys. As parents, we did our best to see them blossom into
responsible world-class citizens and let our children follow their dream.
However, our life was always centered on
sports. Our boys while they were young tried all sports and finally settled
with playing basketball during their school years. Over the years, my husband
and I took up golf and played a lot when children left the nest. Besides
academics, it was driving them to tournaments, games and school related
activities. Also, all our birthdays were centered on watching NBA games in the
stadium as a family.
There are many valuable lessons I learnt from
volunteering at the community level. Started off as a classroom volunteer when
the children were young in Elementary school to basketball games during their
high school years. Moved on to spear heading bone marrow drive at the community
level. At every step, there was phenomenal learning before moving back to
Mumbai and starting Hi5.
Now at Hi5, we are able to nurture and build
enough basketball talent in Mumbai and vicinity especially girls who otherwise
would have been deprived of their opportunity. Basketball is mostly played in
private schools and clubs and these underprivileged children may not have the
resources or ability to compete if Hi5 had not existed. Giving them this edge
energizes me to scale further and give many more opportunities.




ST: Who
is the woman who inspires you the most and why?
Usha:
Serena Williams. She is from a humble African-American
background, her father raised her tough, she broke all barriers in the
conservative white tennis circuit and she emerged the best. She is a perfect
role model to all girls.  A young mother
now, she is back in tennis in full force. Girls playing sports are the most
confident, have huge self-esteem, and they become leaders in their own career
or space.
At home, I admire Sania Mirza, Sania Nehwal
and PV Sindhu. They have broken the barriers in their own conservative cultural
community and have emerged leaders in sports.
ST: How
are you celebrating this year International Day?
Usha:
Our organization has few women employees. We
are trying our best to raise this ratio soon. However, we are in equal numbers
when it comes to recruiting children in our basketball program.
Therefore, every year I honor the women
employees with a small gift, personal hand written notes on how they are so
special in this organization and the women have the power to take the
organization to the next level
Since Hi5 is spread all over Mumbai and vicinity
(14 centers), though I may visit few centers to see my Hi5 children but not all
– the Hi5 sports coordinators do a good job of praising girls on how valuable
they are to the society and to the basketball community.
ST: What
is the most important message you want to send out to all women around the
world on this occasion?
Usha:
Volunteer! Volunteer! Volunteer! Women can
make huge impact in all social causes. Women have empathy and power to make
change. Make a difference in the life of every underprivileged child. More than
just writing check, get involved in a child’s life and see them smile when you
made a difference. There is nothing more valuable than seeing a child smile. After
all, they are the future citizens of the world.
Research says, if a woman plays sports, she
emerges as a leader. Today’s top Women CEO’s in the world have played sports in
their lifetime. I would encourage all parents to give their girls an
opportunity to play competitive sports; this will definitely allow them to
follow their dream.
ST: What
according to you is ‘woman empowerment’?
Usha:
Woman empowerment is all about giving girls/
women in your community to move away from gender biases and make them feel and
sense equality in whatever they do.
In a recent Hi5 Annual Tournament (only girls
day), there were 200 girls in the stadium playing basketball for 10 hours of the
day competing – every girl showed her confidence, grit, and above all their
talent. The crowd was getting excited as few games were going over time, the
girls were real fighters on the field. For me, this is “women empowerment”.




ST: What
would you say are the main challenges facing woman at present in India?
Usha:
Fear of walking alone
Not getting equal opportunities in all
sectors
Sports not encouraged at all especially with
girls
ST: Where
do you want to see yourself in the next 5 years?
Usha:
I want to see that we scale up the Hi5 model
first to interior Maharashtra to 7-8 districts and then to other parts of India
(about 5-6 states), so that many children around the country get this
opportunity to play and succeed in life. I see talent in most tribal children –
therefore whatever expansion we do we will cater to the tribal community. They
are still left behind and more alternative paths are needed to bring them on
par with the rest of the population. In sports, they can definitely fill the
void. Tribal girls need sports more than anybody. To spread Hi5 and get more
girls involved in basketball in the country is my current goal.

Usha Sundar

Tags: Interview
StartUp Terminal Bureau

StartUp Terminal Bureau

Startup Terminal is a global news portal reporting news and analysis on technology, start-ups, and business-related news from all over the world. We exclusively feature entrepreneurs, startups, businesses, and technology companies to reach out to a wider audience. Contact us at editorial@startupterminal.com

Related Posts

Aditya Arora
Interview

Young and brimming with talent: 25-year-old CEO Aditya Arora

June 29, 2022
C.R. Venkatesh, Founder of Minnal
Interview

Interview with C.R. Venkatesh, Founder of Minnal

July 27, 2022
Launching a startup Anuj Batra
Interview

Launching a startup is similar to making a plane take off and overcoming turbulence, says this biz guru

March 1, 2022
Next Post
International Women’s Day Interview: Chitwn D Malhotra, Lead designer & founder, Dillano Luxurious Jewels

International Women's Day Interview: Chitwn D Malhotra, Lead designer & founder, Dillano Luxurious Jewels

International Women’s Day Interview: Sandy Samuel Jerome

International Women's Day Interview: Sandy Samuel Jerome

International Women’s Day Interview: Aarti Chhabria, Co-founder, Clap Global

International Women's Day Interview: Aarti Chhabria, Co-founder, Clap Global

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

India’s Union Budget 2020: Expectations of Industry Leaders and Entrepreneurs

India’s Union Budget 2020: Expectations of Industry Leaders and Entrepreneurs

5 years ago
Smart preparation for NEET and JEE Exams 2020 in lockdown by Gopalan Anish Acharya

Smart preparation for NEET and JEE Exams 2020 in lockdown by Gopalan Anish Acharya

5 years ago
India Accelerator to run nation’s first Accelerator Programme for MSMEs

India Accelerator to run nation’s first Accelerator Programme for MSMEs

5 years ago
ESDS Covid 19 testing mobile vans to conduct door-to-door tests in Nashik and Malegaon

ESDS Covid 19 testing mobile vans to conduct door-to-door tests in Nashik and Malegaon

5 years ago
Maria Dykstra

International Women’s Day: Interview with Maria Dykstra, Co-founder and CMO of TreDigital

4 years ago
No Result
View All Result

Must Read

Arab Aviation Summit 2025 Brings Industry Leaders Together Reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s Role as a Global Aviation Hub

Eire Gulf Appoints Saeed Rehman as Head of Pre-Contract

How to Align Promotional Products with Your Audience

Managing bereavement in the workplace

NLB Services invests in Jagdish Mitra’s industry-first GenAI IP-powered SaaS services venture Humanize

Strategic Staffing: Optimising Performance with Full-Time Remote Teams

Trending

KMH Events Rebrands to KMH Dubai as its Services Expand to Encompass Full Brand Support
News

KMH Events Rebrands to KMH Dubai as its Services Expand to Encompass Full Brand Support

by StartUp Terminal Bureau
May 15, 2025
0

Dubai, May 15, 2025: KMH Events, founded by entrepreneur Kelly Marie Hodgkin, has rebranded as KMH Dubai,...

Manifest Brings Instant, Legal Access to $35 Trillion U.S. Property Equity Market for Indian Investors

Manifest Brings Instant, Legal Access to $35 Trillion U.S. Property Equity Market for Indian Investors

May 8, 2025
Felicity Games Secures $3M to Redefine Global Game Publishing from India

Felicity Games Secures $3M to Redefine Global Game Publishing from India

March 11, 2025
Arab Aviation Summit 2025 Brings Industry Leaders Together Reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s Role as a Global Aviation Hub

Arab Aviation Summit 2025 Brings Industry Leaders Together Reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s Role as a Global Aviation Hub

February 9, 2025
Eire Gulf appoints Saeed Rehman as Head of Pre-Contract

Eire Gulf Appoints Saeed Rehman as Head of Pre-Contract

February 9, 2025
Startup Terminal Logo

Startup Terminal is a global news portal for Technology, Startups, and Businesses. Reporting on technology, start-ups, and business-related news from all over the world. We exclusively feature startups, and technology companies to reach out to a wider audience.
Startup Terminal is an official media partner at global conferences like:
#Mobile World Congress 4YFN,
#Barcelona, Spain
#ConnecTechAsia, Singapore (Formerly CommunicAsia)
#NXTAsia, Singapore
#Africa Com, Cape Town, South Africa
#Converge Events, Singapore
#young Startup Ventures, USA

Follow us on social media:

Recent News

  • KMH Events Rebrands to KMH Dubai as its Services Expand to Encompass Full Brand Support May 15, 2025
  • Manifest Brings Instant, Legal Access to $35 Trillion U.S. Property Equity Market for Indian Investors May 8, 2025
  • Felicity Games Secures $3M to Redefine Global Game Publishing from India March 11, 2025
  • Arab Aviation Summit 2025 Brings Industry Leaders Together Reinforcing Saudi Arabia’s Role as a Global Aviation Hub February 9, 2025
  • Eire Gulf Appoints Saeed Rehman as Head of Pre-Contract February 9, 2025
  • How to Align Promotional Products with Your Audience November 5, 2024
  • Managing bereavement in the workplace September 24, 2024
  • NLB Services invests in Jagdish Mitra’s industry-first GenAI IP-powered SaaS services venture Humanize August 21, 2024

Readers’ Choice

  • Aneesha Dalal, SHIAMAK Dance Academy

    Interview: Aneesha Dalal, Master Instructor and Principal Dancer at The SHIAMAK Dance Academy

    380 shares
    Share 152 Tweet 95
  • International Women’s Day Interview: Arpita Mehta, Fashion Designer

    348 shares
    Share 139 Tweet 87

© 2023 Startup Terminal - Leading digital news portal-Startup Terminal | All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Technology
    • Funding
    • Tie-up
    • Acquisition
    • Australia Startup News
    • Singapore Startup News
    • India Startup News
    • UAE Startup News
    • UK Startup News
    • US Startup News
    • Launch
    • Video
  • Interview
  • Feature
  • Events
  • Variety
    • 40 Under 40 Award by Startup Terminal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation policy
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact Us

© 2023 Startup Terminal - Leading digital news portal-Startup Terminal | All Rights Reserved.