BHOPAL : We have often heard our elders saying ‘You are too young to do this’. The perception that we never grow big enough to handle any big responsibility all by ourselves, is ruled out by the work these young guns are doing at an age when most of us probably enjoy school and college life. What makes them more special is that these young Bhopalites are
not working for themselves, they are working to make this world a better place. They are not just young, talented and innovative, they are dedicated that their small efforts can induce masses to contribute their bit towards the society as well.
Kanupriya Gupta
Kanupriya Gupta, 16 has been working with Arushi since she was just seven, giving her voice for recording books for blind students of the institution. In Class 8 she attended a workshop on media information literature and started working for ‘The Peace Gong’ newspaper and today she is the national editor of the same. Kanupriya has been working extensively towards sensitising youth towards disability and gives talks at schools to make people realise how difficult the life is for a person with disability. She also takes classes of internship students at Arushi and teaching them brail is her favourite. “I enjoy here and my time is divided only between Arushi and studies, there is no space for anything else”, she says with a bright smile on her face.
Mohsin Khan
In 2011, Mohsin Khan, 22, was so moved with the ‘India against corruption’ campaign that he started the same in Bhopal. “I mailed all the 400 people who signed up for the facebook campaign from Bhopal and called a meeting at Ankur School. About 60 people came for the meeting and we worked for the campaign. After passing Class 12, I enrolled myself in bachelor’s degree in social work and during the same period I met Medha Patkar, Alok Agarwal who transformed me completely”, said Khan. He formed Ansh Happiness Society in 2013 and since then he is working for the underprivileged children, elderly persons and anyone who needs support and motivation. “We are planning to work in education system also especially government schools because a lot of change is needed in education sector. We are trying to seek permission for operating in schools”, he said.
Riddhi Paliwal
21-year-old Riddhi Paliwal is a final year CS student and is compassionate towards animals. Her love for animals led her to form Kartavya Animal Welfare Society in 2014 along with her friend Rohit Jain. “The organisation provides maximum possible help to stray animals. “We are a group of five members now and we operate mostly through facebook page. Whenever anyone informs us about a sick stray animal, we reach the spot and treat the animal. Mostly, we receive information for dogs and then cows. We have now managed to get a foster house too, where dogs needing prolonged medical care are brought and treated”, said Paliwal. The organisation has no permanent source of funding and most of the expenses are footed through their pocket money and few donations received.
Sunil Sharma
Sunil Sharma, 22, has a lot of achievements in his account but he is satisfied when he watches happy faces of children reciting their story. The idea of ‘Rising Planet’ came to Sharma’s mind during his visit to a slum area. The organisation visits slums, government schools in search of children who have brought a change. “During such a visit, we found a 12 year old girl who saved herself and opposed her from getting married. There are many untold stories of heroes around us, which often goes unnoticed. The prime motto of Rising Planet is to promote these children to encourage others and oppose anything wrong happening around them”, he said.
