The world today, more than ever before, needs to leverage the power of youth as changemakers, as enablers of a better tomorrow, and this needs to be encouraged and celebrated. On this National Youth Day, it’s time to celebrate youths like Pratibha Kumari and Aunradha who are scripting stories of change and success.
A resident of Banjee, Ganju tola, Pratibha reached out to Tata Steel Foundation and was selected as a Covid warrior to spread awareness amidst the pandemic. Professionally trained at TSF to counsel people of the community and enable a healthy mental wellbeing, Pratibha reached out to more than 300 families in the region, where she closely monitored each community member and regularly visited them. It was during her interactions with the community when she discovered that most of the villagers were not using mask for paucity of money. With TSF’s help, Pratibha not only stitched masks on her own, but also distributed them among the needy and trained the community on how to make masks at home. Simple gestures like these during the pandemic stitched the community together in turn empowering many more. For her exemplary work during COVID-19, Pratibha was awarded by T. V. Narendran with ‘Dhwani Youth Icon Award’ during the annual virtual youth conclave ‘Dhwani’.
Expressing herself, Pratibha said: “I want every girl in the region to know that her voice can change the world around her. I take pride in saying that I was guided in the best possible way at TSF and it empowered me to touch so many lives. With the will to work, anything is possible. Try!”
Embracing all the hardships of life, Anuradha from Karmatiya village at Barughutu North is re-scripting a journey towards a better tomorrow though quality education. Anuradha, a budding youth icon among her tribal community, teaches children in her spare time so that they don’t lose out on their right to education. This modest gesture is not only encouraging young children in the community to continue education but is also making sure that aspiring children have access to TSF initiatives like Jyoti Fellowship. Under the Jyoti Fellowship programme, Tata Steel provides the fellowship amount to more than 200 underprivileged SC/ST students every year to support their education. The students who are able to qualify in the merit test in the Class VII are supported till Class XII. This programme also provides economical support to graduation students post final evaluation of their performance in the merit test. Since 2012, more than 525 SC/ST students, including Anuradha from West Bokaro division, have benefitted from the Jyoti Fellowship programme. She recently matriculated securing a modest 76%.
As a responsible corporate citizen, Tata Steel is committed to enabling and empowering the youth of today. The Company, at its West Bokaro division, is spearheading various initiates to groom the youth in the best possible way and enable them to lead the community to a better and sustainable future.
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