Akshara V Prabhath - Primary Short-listed Nominee - Social Volunteer Awards 2021
Akshara V Prabhath is a budding engineer who finds joy and meaning in life when it is spent in bringing a smile to another's face. She is the chief coordinator and module designer of Insight for Innovation (NGO). She has been mentoring children to improve their academics and widen their horizons. As a part of Insight for Innovation, she organised a project for improving Basic Mathematic knowledge as well as leadership and other soft skills for underprivileged children. She is an active volunteer in the IEEE, GDSC and National Service Scheme units of her college and has been part of various projects to bring in equal opportunities for everyone in the society. She is the WIE Vice Chairperson of IEEE SB LBSITW and Outreach manager of GDSC LBSITW. Her passion is to create and be part of changes that ripple their way into eventually changing the Nation for the better.
VOLUNTEERING FOR ME
Volunteering means being truly alive to me. Among a life spent in walking with the herd and going through the motions of another's definition of living, volunteering is a space where I truly understand the meaning of existing, where I can truly comprehend the vastness of the opportunities and privileges I am blessed with and act so as to bring meaning into it. Volunteering means being a citizen of the earth in its truest sense.
VOLUNTEERING JOURNEY
I came into volunteering when I was at school. It started with Insight, an organisation conducting pedagogy research and transforming education as we know it. I have been volunteering in all of its activities and social transformation projects for over five years now. Volunteering has helped me discover myself, It has helped me not only touch the lives of others, but has always been a mirror to me in helping to acknowledge my limitations and really leading and inspiring myself to be a better person than yesterday.
VOLUNTEERING STORY
Like many things in life, Volunteering started out as a chance journey for me.
I visited Insight, at the time just another neighbourhood organisation for me when I was 14 years old. I went along on one of their projects involving a local government school where we took personality development sessions for the students at the end of which various books and gifts were distributed to them. The smile on the children's faces was an unforgettable sight. It was a very special sort of pure joy to impact someone's life positively in however small a way possible. I started actively participating in more initiatives organised by Insight and became a mentor and coordinator in various sessions which granted us with both delightful and shocking experiences. I remember the pang on my chest when a child drew lines on the paper and counted them by hand because he couldn't do double digit addition at an age when his peers were supposed to be far ahead and another instance when we were handed back a plain sheet of paper - " Please teach me" after a mock evaluation session held in one of the underprivileged schools.
Every smile, every stroke of confidence a student expresses, every breath of relief at being better - they are all my inspirations to move forward. We have faced a lot of issues from struggling to find financial backing and social support for our projects and simply being taken seriously in a world which values competition and plowing ahead not caring for the ones crushed behind. It is my pride and my joy to have been able to contribute to helping up those children crushed under this bridge. I truly consider it a privilege that I got to experience every single one of these struggles and joys at an earlier age. They have helped me be mindful of my opportunities and skills and empowers me to strive to a better and socially repsonsible person in whatever career path I choose as well in day to day life choices.
PROJECT PROJECT GANITHAM
ORGANISATION Insight for Innovation