Lead to Lift: Vision of the Youth

Development sector in India, in the recent years, has attracted youth like never before. From giving donations to collecting them, youngsters now find it better to invest their time in supporting and working for a cause than to sit at home during the summer break.

Considering this trend, we decided to explore the reasons that made it motivating for youth to be involved in social work. For this purpose, we interviewed Aastha Shreeharsh, student of The Shri Ram School, Aravalli and Anupriya Gaur, a 22 year old Business Development Associate.

The conversation began with Aastha, who expressed her thoughts on whether the development sector should flourish in India or not. She said,

“Lower segments of society believe that more the children, more the income. What they fail to understand is that children are entitled to basic rights like education, good health etc., thus failing to provide them with the same. For this reason, I believe, development sector in India should flourish. Even the corporate sector should emphasize more of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).”

To this, Anupriya Gaur added,

“The touchpoint should be a safe, healthy environment for children to grow into dynamic young citizens.”

Both Aastha and Anupriya have worked/volunteered in the development sector before. On being asked about what motivates them to work for a social cause, Aastha shares,

“Through the mandatory SUPW (Socially Useful and Productive Work) programmes organised in my school, I have been able to contribute in social work in the past. I love to paint and to be able to channelize my talent into something productive for a good cause is motivating.”

Adding to this, Anupriya said,

“I worked as an intern with SOS India during the summer of 2016. Post that, I also worked with Enactus India. The greatest motivation for me was to give back to society that I belong to, even if that is in a little measure. I wish to make a change in the lives of those who are too young to step out into the world and do it themselves.”

SOS Children’s Villages of India works towards nurturing vulnerable children in a loving home and ensuring that the rights of those children who have lost parental care are protected. On inquiring how both would be willing to involve themselves with the organisation, they said,

Anupriya: “I already took part in a fundraising internship with SOS India in 2016. It was a very fulfilling experience, bringing a change in my perspective towards the strata of the society that we tend to overlook- parentless and abandoned children. Negotiating with different people for funds enabled me to gain life skills that I implement in my lifestyle as well. In the future, I would like to work towards transforming the future of these children. I think SOS India is doing great work for them.”

Aastha: “As a school student, I cannot donate money to the organisation. However, I am willing to give my time to the organisation’s endeavours.”

Both the girls believe that children under the umbrella of organisations like SOS India constitute India’s invisible population and that by spreading awareness about the work SOS India is doing for them, we can contribute greatly.

Since both Aastha and Anupriya were not directly involved in the development sector, they agreed that they would be willing to become ambassadors of change. While Aastha thinks that she could contribute by sharing her skills with underprivileged children, resulting in their skill development, Anupriya showed willingness to extend a helping hand to such organisations in any way possible.

– Palak Prashant, a student of The Shri Ram School, Aravali, is an SOS Buddy. Her enthusiasm to work for a social cause at this age is very pleasing for all of us at SOS India. We wish her all the best for the future!