Hyderabad: A youth-led drive strives for a better society

A youth-led movement is silently righting the wrongs of society, i.e., by attending to the most ignored lot. Each member or volunteer of Youngistaan is fuelled by the desire to touch one life at a time.

Since 2014, they have embraced some of the lofty goals of United Nations, such as, Zero Hunger, No Poverty, Gender Equality, Quality Education, Good Health And Well Being, Responsible Consumption And Production, and Partnership For Goals.

Thousands of volunteers are reaching out to the needy with the humanitarian aid. Some of them part of the NGO for more than 5 years are heading programmes that address homelessness, poverty, education inequity, gender inequality, taboos on menstruation, emergency responses, animal rights and other issues.

Arun Daniel Yellamarth Kumar, its founder, says Youngistaan is a network of volunteers, numbering more than 50,000 young people, committed to making a difference in the community by helping those in need.

"Youngistaan has engaged with over 14,000 adolescent girls in government and private schools, slums and orphanages and sparks crucial conversations on child sex abuse, menstrual hygiene awareness, distribution of 10,000+ sanitary napkins empowered 50+ women with livelihood skills and also the foundation focuses on stopping animal abuse, Animal adoption, for the homeless people even they initiated the drive for them," he said.

Even during the pandemic, the teams readily responded to the people's needs by delivering groceries to 15,725 families, Providing 145,430 cooked meals, assisting more than 60 senior citizens with medical needs and groceries, providing 35,000 fruit and bread packets to migrant laborers on Shramik Trains, delivering essentials to 75 orphanages, old age homes and PWD homes, feeding 3,000 stray animals with fresh meals, holding webinars on mental health and gender-based violence during the lockdown etc.

"60% of the population in India is below the age of 35. The intention was never to start an NGO; however, we got ourselves to register to authentically address the problems of the underprivileged. We can't deny the fact that there are a couple of setbacks in terms of receiving donations and resources.

However, through young like-minded people, we are able to create a meaningful impact in the community. We would love to see many more volunteers, donors and partners supporting our initiative and being part of our family. Do join us to be a real-life superhero," Arun signs off.