Women who make a difference are as important as any change leaders. With the gender gap still a massive factor in all environments, it is good to see some women going against the flow to make a difference. Our special series with Hyundai Motor India continues with Freishia B, award-winning master of ceremonies, co-founder of Carter Cleanup, TedX speaker, and online content star raising awareness about pertinent topics.
This special series with Hyundai India allows us to interact with and get to know some truly exceptional women who are not in the limelight but still make a sea change. Be it generating employment for tribals or taking up the responsibility to save the environment one step at a time, while involving others to make a bigger difference, there is a lot going on beyond what we see on mainstream channels. That said, there is a lot to be said and even more to do to spread awareness for change on a greater scale.
One such personality is Freishia. She has been at the forefront of change in and around Mumbai and has taken the online world by storm with her channel ‘Whack! by Freishia’ talking about issues that many people refrain from discussing but which need to be spoken about. She is committed to raising awareness and helping people help themselves. This can only be done with the right information and references and, of course, a massive reach.
Just like Freishia, the Hyundai Venue has been around and steadily making progress and has soared to greater success with each passing year. The Venue has been a prominent SUV and has garnered a sizeable following, not to mention a big piece of the pie. It is a stylish, comfortable, well-equipped, and safe automobile which takes on life one mile at the time.
Q&A
You have been making a change on a different level, being an incredibly diverse person wearing many hats. What inspired you to go out there and just be yourself while trying your best to help the community?
There is a line I read: ‘The biggest problem with our planet is that everyone thinks that someone else will save it’. Just after the lockdown, I was walking on Carter Road and along the beach that I had actually played on as a child. I saw this one guy cleaning the beach and he was alone. I looked at the beach and it literally looked like a landfill and I thought to myself, this was a beach that I played on as a child and here it is completely destroyed. People were using it for dumping. The tendency here is if one sees a lot of waste, then they tend to throw more waste over there because they think that it’s a dumping ground. I just said to myself, first of all, if this guy is cleaning on his own, he’ll never manage. Secondly, it just felt like something needed to be done. And that line would always stay within me and that’s how I started Carter Cleanup along with my co-founders. We’ve been doing this for three years now and we’ve done almost 170 beach cleanups. We’ve cleared more than 75,000 kilos of marine waste and that’s just the smallest drop in the ocean, right? Because there’s so much waste out there, it’s unbelievable how much needs to get cleared.
We also did something really cool this year. We started what’s called the India Cleanup Confluence. We got cleanup movements from around India to congregate in one place, exchanged ideas, and had panel sessions. We did this because a lot of people think that cleanup movements are mostly beach-related. There are people doing some fantastic work in the mountains, in the Himalayas or cleaning rivers, lakes, mangroves, forests—so many ecosystems need this kind of cleaning around our country. It’s that one line that has always stayed with me and has been my North Star and has kept me going.
The MC space is highly competitive but you have managed to stand out and develop a following on a huge level across the country and beyond. What advice would you give young women who wish to go out and chase their dreams?
If you are looking to become a master of ceremonies, then one very important piece of advice is read a lot! Do your homework. Your job is not just about going on stage and reading off a piece of paper. You have to learn about your client and understand them. Do as many meetings as possible. Many a time they are working on an event for many months and you walk in a few days before it and they entrust the entire thing to you. If you make sure that you’re as involved as possible, it’s definitely going to be a successful event. I feel my best events are when people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t realise you work for us’ or ‘Which department do you work in?’ That makes me feel like I’ve nailed the show because they think that I work for the company and understand the entire ecosystem.
For many young women that are out there, I think one of the biggest things we all learned in the last couple of years is that while all of us wear our crowns, it’s important once in a while to adjust another person’s crown for them. We are so involved in just what we do, but I also think this is a time for collaboration. The more you network in the right way with other people, help other people, it will eventually get you ahead in life. My favourite term this year has been ‘no gatekeeping’. If people reach out for resources, ideas, or any kind of help, I’m like, ‘Sure, I’ll be more than happy to do that for you.’ Every year, I also mentor one young person when they want to enter the events field. I’m so proud of some of my girls. One has gone on to do very well as an MC and she’ll keep sending me videos. I feel like this helps me to accelerate more in my career.
What does “women empowerment” mean to you? How would you say it makes a difference and how it matters going forward?
Women empowerment comes in so many different ways to women who are in different fields. I think empowerment started at a very young age. I started working when I was 16. I educated myself and also worked side-by-side. I feel that I’m very fortunate that I felt empowered from a very young age. I’ve had parents who have allowed me to feel empowered. I have a partner who is extremely supportive of my very hectic schedule and, once in a while, takes great pride in adjusting my crown for me. It’s so difficult to say what women empowerment means because it means different things to different people.
Would you say a car goes some way in helping with empowerment?
Yes. A car can be a means of empowerment. I remember buying my first car when I was 21. I’d already been working for five years. I felt so empowered! I felt so proud of myself. I felt so exhilarated that I was able to do this for myself and be independent—just being able to do as I want. I felt safe, more importantly, like coming back late from work and things like that. The car definitely helped me feel empowered.
You’ve have the channel called “Whack!” which highlighted and spoke about social issues and brought attention where it was needed. Now you have a new show, The Naari Network. Tell us more about it.
I’m hosting The Naari Network, a show done with the US Consulate General of Mumbai and Bingepods Studios. This show is designed for young women who are entering into the workspace, looking to feel empowered or looking for answers. I feel it’s important in this day and age of social media where a lot of the wrong information can come in your direction or, maybe, just not the right kind or quality of information. In this show, we have some amazing women from different aspects of life come and join us. We’ve had astronauts, politicians, engineers, CEOs, and also a lot of men who are doing a lot of work and empowering women. We’ve had all these people come and talk on different topics. I have learnt so much. One of the things I told them was that we rarely get to see the host also taking the learning journey along with the viewers. The host is usually the one who knows it all. But I said I am going to take this journey with my viewers and we’re going to discover things together. And we speak on so many different topics from corporates and sexual harassment to women in politics. I think that The Naari Network is not only for women, it’s for everyone.
You travel a whole lot. How do you manage to create a work-life balance?
Work-life balance is a myth. It doesn’t exist (laughs). It’s a completely Utopian concept. What I think is most important is just learning when I need to say ‘No’. This year especially was one of those years for me when I finally had to turn around and say, ‘Now my plate isn’t full, it’s overflowing’. I’m very fortunate that opportunities keep coming but at some point, I had to realise that rest needs to be important in life. So, I thrive on some days when I have breakfast in Mumbai, lunch in Kolkata, and fly out to Vietnam at night. Then, I will also at some point say that it’s time to pause, say no, rest is good. So many of us are afraid just to say no.
On this journey through life, who or what has been your biggest source of inspiration?
I feel like I don’t have any one person that has inspired me or motivated me, but I have managed to take inspiration and motivation from a lot of different people. While growing up, I saw my mom take care of us. Then suddenly she decided that she was going to start working, when we were 13, and how she worked around us, she embraced that really well. My aunt was the speaker of the South African parliament. I would watch her as a child. She worked very closely with Nelson Mandela. The way she would walk into a room and completely command everybody’s attention, people would just stop what they were doing because she had such a magnificent and big personality. I would look at that and be like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ I think I’ve managed to take bits and pieces from different people around me and see how I can incorporate those into my life.
With your lifestyle, how much does having a comfortable, safe, and reliable car, with all the latest technology, matter in your day?
I think the technology really helps. Little things like having the map come up while I’m driving or even if I’m being driven, my driver can take a look at the map while I am on a call, so I don’t have to navigate. At the same time, there are so many little things that turn out to be very convenient, so for a person like me who’s always on the go, that kind of technology really helps. It’s not only cool to have, it enables me to work more efficiently. Of course, everybody loves a reliable and sturdy car, especially on long trips for events over the expressways, and I want to be in something that feels safe.
Hyundai have given a platform for women like yourself to speak with the hope of inspiring others to be the best they can be. Do you think this will help make a difference for women today and get the ball rolling?
Absolutely! If there are young women out there who are looking for ways they can become better versions of themselves—that’s how my journey into “Whack!” also started. I wanted to become a better version of myself every year. If you are someone who is looking for answers and you’re looking in the right places, you definitely will be able to empower yourself through shows like this.
Did you have a good time with the Hyundai Venue?
Yes, absolutely. Driving it was a lot of fun. It’s always good fun to jump into a new car and get to experience it. There was a time in college when we used to do a lot of rallies and I was always navigator and my friend would be driving. We would always get really excited to experience the new car and it felt really good.
Story: Jim Gorde
Photography: Saurabh Botre
Also read: Hyundai and the Empowered Woman II
