Pradeep Waze

Qualifications/Work Experience:Pradeep has an MA in History from Pune University and has been with Shelter Associates since 2000
My dream as a child was…to become a teacher.
What I love most about Shelter Associates is… the atmosphere in the office. The work is very friendly and there is no tension. Everyone is working with soul, and it feels very much like home.

My most challenging moment at Shelter was…working with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) while doing GIS work in Pune. Working with the public officials and getting payments has been very challenging. All of the work is done at the ground level in the slums, and it is very good work and ultimately very useful to the PMC.
My most rewarding moment in community service work has been…completing the KamgarPutla Slum Rehabilitation project of 2003. We had to convince the people to move to new housing. Providing good housing, creating a society, and establishing a strong federation of people was very rewarding. The people now own their homes, do not have to worry about problems such as flooding, and are very happy overall. Also, I started with Shelter as a community member only. Over time, I became an expert with GIS technology and Google Earth slum mapping. I was able to bring these skills to Indonesia, sharing my knowledge and Shelter’s success with other people.
My best friend is…Kumar (he runs a small children’s school in Pune), Sachin (he works in the IT industry), and Shashi (a fellow Shelter core member!)