Young Achievers Honoured with Award: Challenge India-International Special Project

The annual ceremony for Challenge India - International Special Project was held at Auxilium College on 11th Feb 2016 in the presence of Kapil Bhalla (National Director), Bivujit Mukhoty (Programme Manager, Dinesh Gajendran (Coordinator, Challenge India- International Special Project), Dr. (Sr). Eugini Fathima Mary (Principal), Dr. (Sr). Mary Sheela Susairaj (Vice Principal), Dr. (Sr). Mary Josephine Rani (Vice Principal) and Dr. Beulah Suresh (Head, Dept of Business Administration). Over 200 participants received their Bronze and Silver Award during the ceremony for their active participation in the development process of self and community.

Speaking at the ceremony, Raghunath, a Bronze Award participant from Sukkampatti village near Trichy said, “I have started doing science experiments and research about global warming and climate change in my village, which has been selected as Best Project for Young Scientist Award”. Deveneen Baskar said, “I have been volunteering for the Award activities from day one with the YES centre, which improved my volunteering and public speaking skills and today I am a proud recipient of the Silver Award”. Another participant, Caroline, a BBA Student from Auxilium College said, “I got an opportunity to improve my leadership skills through volunteering service, which improves my team building and networking skills. As a result I have been elected as Secretary of my College Students Union Council.”

Dinesh Gajendran, Coordinator, Challenge India-International Special Project and Executive Director of Audacious Dreams Foundation said, “Over 500 young people enrolled from various institutions from Vellore and Trichy and other rural districts of Tamil Nadu, and are using this Award programme as a tool to inspire the rural young people to challenge themselves by learning life skills and serving the community. The result is that over 200 young people achieved their Bronze and Silver Award. We pledge to take this programme to many deserving young people across Tamil Nadu through “Challenge India-International Special Project of IAYP India”

National Award Authority wish to congratulate all the Awardees for their success and wish them all the best for their further Award Journey. Click for pictures

"The Keyboard Sir"

Abhijay Malviya, Bronze Award holder from The British School, New Delhi is sharing his transforming experience. My name is Abhijay and I’m from the British School, New Delhi. The Award Programme has dramatically changed my personality in many ways. During my Bronze Award journey I continued learning the piano and passed with a merit in my Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) exam. I played basketball three times a week and participated in the academy level tournament. Moreover, I went on an Adventurous Journey to Southern India, where I cycled long distances and participated in many activities, such as rappelling to name a few. However, the most transforming experience was at a school for the underprivileged children at Saksham Bal Vikas, an NGO in Gurgaon. The parents of the students in the school are mostly workers and street stall owners, who don’t have the money to send their wards to school. I believe that the under privileged in the country need to be educated so that India can grow as a modern nation, and institutions like this should be set up everywhere. What I learnt from interacting with these children is that they are extremely optimistic with big ideas, but did not have the available opportunities to follow their ideas before joining school. Since this school was already teaching academics, I decided to show them another side to the coin, the side they had great desire for and where they could really express their creativity: Music. On the first day, they were very excited to see my keyboard. To cope with the excitement I taught them the basics of composition, a move which would not have been the best at an early stage but I couldn't take the risk of boring them with some theoretical knowledge! They even started calling me ‘Keyboard Sir’. Overall their happiness along with the driving determination for success really made me reflect on my own life, and if I have to take away one learning experience from this, it would be to appreciate what’s given and stay focused to capitalize on opportunities. Click for pictures