For the youth, by the youth

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 16

Majha House hosted an introductory session of PYPL (Punjab Youth Leaders Program), an attempt by youngsters to mobilise and empower young generation and engaging them in social welfare activities. The session, headed by Ankit Chhabra, the brain behind the programme, focused on the collective and comprehensive efforts of the programme. Ankit said the main area of thrust was to get youngsters to dedicate themselves to the rebuilding of a new Punjab, one that is culturally rich and educationally vibrant.

PYPL comprises a group of youngsters from different backgrounds and they organise visits to different primary schools in a selected villages and interact with members of the panchayat. “We aim to identify the gap areas and lacunae that exist in the system and try to fill these gap areas through education and awareness. We select a village and then mobilise teachers to work collectively towards a better system for the younger generation,” said Ankit.

Elaborating on the process to join it, he said, “We invite applications online and then invite youngsters to post their videos with it and then we select 25 members to act as volunteers in different capacities to make their own contributions in the field of education,” he added.

In the last five years, PYPL has scripted many stories of success in villages and have transformed many lives which would have remained unknown and unsung. Like Jaspreet Kaur from Fatehgarh Sahib village, who is an orphan and brought up by her grandparents. She joined the programme after completing her education through distance programmes and worked part-time to ensure that her younger sister was sent to college. She then started giving free tuition classes to other girls and boys like her so that they did not remain in the throes of poverty and became literate and empowered. Today, she is an active member of PYPL and is making a difference to the lives of others. “This is the main aim and focus of the programme,” said Ankit while narrating her story.

Although they have an MoU with the Punjab Government, the organization primarily works on donations collected from people who understand and appreciate what the PYPL is doing and what it is all about.

Gurpartap Khairah, member, Majha House, said since they presented a platform for the promotion and dissemination of new ideas and movements in Punjab, PYPL was an excellent idea. “We will ensure the programme is taken to far-of areas so that socially conscious members of society can join and strengthen this remarkable venture.”