For the love of society!

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, October 24

Not many have the courage to follow the voice of their heart. It requires immense belief in oneself. But Sandeep Kumar Chadha has taken the road way less traversed and has found the peace of mind and contentment flowering all along.

Sandeep left a well-paid job to pursue his passion of serving humanity. His previous jobs detail of Assistant Professor at DAV College from 2013 to 2018 and then District Programme Coordinator for Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, for a year, gave him all that he desired for — but the inner peace.

“I am living my passion. A true sense of security and peace cannot be obtained simply by personal gains. Rather, it is achieved by helping others and putting a smile on other faces,” he says. Divulging details about his life as a social worker, he shares, “We through this club are making sure we help all those in need. We even feed stray animals on a daily basis and the work is solely being managed by teams of youths, so that we put in them the feeling of compassion.”

Having realised the fact that youth in Punjab has got immense potential but have gone astray on the path life indulging in drugs and other felonies, there is no one to lead and show them the light of life, so he decided to do humanitarian services and engage youth in a cause that helps bring about a change in the society. “I started the Youth Services Club in 2019 with the aim to give return the favour. I always had the aspirations to help usher realistic social change and I knew I cannot bring this change if I don’t engage the young and energetic minds,” he tells.

He now has a team of around 15 members and there are also many students, even teenagers, as volunteers. The work undertaken includes greenery, waste management, traffic discipline, equality and women empowerment among others. “Besides, we have also conducted more than 30 events in rural areas of Jalandhar like seminars, rallies, competitions, sports tournaments, to attract more youth towards social service and aware people of their rights,” Sandeep lists.

No stopping amid lockdown

During the lockdown the 29-year-old’s club religiously worked to help those rendered jobless and the adversely affected ones. “The pandemic has been a tough time for all. Though things are heading back to normalcy, people are still facing boulder of difficulties. My team during the lockdown period worked so hard to serve all those migrants who were going back home and were rendered jobless,” he said.

From distributing ration, cooked meals to feeding stray animals to sanitising the localities, the bands of Youth Services Club went door to door to sensitise people.