An Interview With Rebecca, Our Caring and Compassionate HR Officer
by Sonja Kraft
“God gave me Purnaa where you can be yourself and you don’t have to pretend that you are strong.”
Congratulations, you won the employee of the month award! How did you feel when you found out that you won?
Thank you! It was surprising for me. I remember at the time I was very busy and normally I’m the one trying to print out the pictures for Employee of the Month, but at that period I was not at Purnaa very much, so maybe it was easy for you guys to surprise me.
Do you know why you were selected?
I try my best to look after the people and their problems and issues. I tried my best and the outcome was there. But I never felt like I should be given that award.We want to get to know you a little bit better.
Can you tell us about your family?
I live with my mother, my brother and my sister-in-law. My mother is a single mom. She raised us without our father, because our father died when I was young. When I was six or seven years old he was diagnosed with cancer. We are now a happy, small family. I have two sisters and another brother, he’s in our father’s place, we don’t live there but he lives there. I have four siblings and I am the youngest.
Who is your role model and why?
I don’t really have any particular role model, but I feel like Jesus is my role model. It’s a difficult question for me. But with Jesus, every time I think about His love and His character, that inspires me every day. I also try to follow the character of Joshua from the Bible. I would like to inherit his character. Those two are my role models.
What is something fun or interesting you have done recently?
A fun thing I’ve done recently was the Purnaa Easter picnic. I enjoyed it a lot. I really enjoyed everyone and the dancing. The games were also very fun. The fact I liked the most was when I came back to work and I was following up with people, they were very happy with all of the activities. And I felt like, oh the hard work was there and they enjoyed it. It was more than me enjoying it; I felt they were enjoying it too. So that made me glad.
If you only had one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
In one word… I would say I’m a very loving person.
When have you been most satisfied in your life?
The most satisfied time in my life is being at Purnaa. I’ve never regretted anything in my life. I’ve been very blessed. But this was something that wasn’t just according to my will, it was something that I wanted, but I feel like God’s will is in it. Me being a part of Purnaa is God’s will and that satisfies me a lot.
What is your job at Purnaa?
My job at Purnaa is very interesting. I work as an HR officer and something that is different from other businesses is I feel that I am here to take care of the people and their work issues, or anything like that. I go around to the people and talk with them, chat with them, as a friend or as a mentor or as a sister. It’s different with different girls. When they are sick I try to give them advice to see a doctor and I try to help them to receive the doctor’s help. That’s the social part that I do at Purnaa. Other than that, I help with different processes and work together to make policies with the company. Overall I take care of the people here.
How long have you worked at Purnaa?
It’s been 1 year and 3 months.
What did you do before you worked at Purnaa?
Before I worked at Purnaa I was associated with the media, an entertainment business. I used to work in PR, public relations, to organize the national film award every year. My job was to write letters to the ambassadors of different countries and ask if they could send any guests, international artists, for our national film award. I used to invite people to be a part of the ceremony.
What is different about Purnaa from other places you have worked?
The environment. The love. The community. There are huge differences. I have never felt that satisfied in any other things than how I’ve felt at Purnaa. The difference is the way we take care of the people. At other work places, I used to feel like people were there for money and the biggest assets weren’t the people. I never felt like I was cared for or any of the people were cared for at the company. But here we love to work and learn and show care toward the employees. Whatever we do is for the employees. That is something very beautiful. The core values, love, beauty, integrity, we try to work in that way every day. So that is the beautiful thing about Purnaa.
What motivated you to come to work at Purnaa?
I went through the website and I felt like, wow, the way they work and the work they’ve been doing. I felt like they were giving their all to the people. So that attracted me. I always felt like I wanted to give something to society. That was my prayer to God. I’ve always had a heart of serving, but I never had the chance to do that. So I felt like, this is the chance where I can be myself. Even with other businesses, I had a heart to serve but I sometimes had to be very strict. But here I feel like I can be myself. I can show the love that I have. That attracted me a lot and I felt like I wanted to try working there.
What keeps you coming to work?
I want to keep working at Purnaa because I love the people here and I know God loves them and they are valued no matter what, wherever they’ve come from. For all the people here, I want to shower them with all the love I have. I feel like I should keep on doing it until God wants me to do it. It’s something I want to keep on doing. There are many women we need to help and empower. Lot’s more. That’s something that makes me feel like, the love I have inside my heart that God has given me, I have to give to them. This is why I like coming to Purnaa.
How have you changed as a person since working here?
If I flashback to myself the way I was before, I just get surprised. I have become a totally new person. I used to be a very young and angry woman, and very stubborn. But I always had a soft heart inside. I used to feel like I had to be that way to the world. But God gave me Purnaa where you can be yourself and you don’t have to pretend that you are strong. So being at Purnaa I have learned to become more patient. I have learned that whatever you do, you don’t do by your own strength. That’s what I pray every morning before I come here, I say “I can’t do it without you God.” I have learned to listen more to people and be more sensitive and I have become a more humble person. It’s still a process, I’m not perfect, but I’m trying and learning. At home, sometimes I do get angry with my family, but the way I handle it is totally different. I feel like I’m not that person I used to be. This is the new me. This is a good side of me that I don’t get angry as easily as I used to before. I’ve become a calm, loving person. I am enjoying the way I am right now.
What have you learned from working at Purnaa that you would like to pass on to others?
There are many things I’ve learned from Purnaa and I do share them with my family and friends. The most important thing is I feel like the love you have for people, I feel like everybody, humans beings, are a beautiful thing created by God, created in His character. So sometimes we feel like we have to be that different person, that strong kind of a person to the world, but that’s not true. That’s what I’ve learned from Purnaa. At other places we try to impress people, but here it’s such a beautiful thing, we’ve been given an environment where we can be ourselves and we don’t have to pretend. We don’t have to please anyone but can just be the way you are and try to improve every day. I’ve learned how to inspire people. We work here with respect for everyone, with good working conditions, and with treating everyone equally. There’s no big and small man at Purnaa, so that’s the best thing. We don’t have to be like, “Oh he’s my boss so I have to speak in this way or that way.” You can just be yourself and treat people equally, that’s the best part of Purnaa. That’s what I try to share with people, this is a company where we treat people well. We try to help them. We don’t talk badly about each other, we try to help each other improve.
If I were to ask your team leader what your greatest strength is, what would they tell me?
That’s a really difficult question. I think she would say that I am hard working. I know she trusts me, so I would also say I am a trustworthy person.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I just want to say that I am very thankful for Purnaa for trusting me and shaping my work here. I love to give my best at what I do. I am very thankful and glad that Purnaa gave me the training I need to do my job well. Now I know how to sit with people when I’m talking to them, to sympathize with them, things like that. I am very grateful towards Purnaa and I love being here.