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The most beautiful thing in this world is to see children smile, and the next big thing is to know that you are the reason behind that smile

Gopali Youth Welfare Society || IIT Kharagpur

Tejas Lad 1 Stories

Saturday November 12, 2016 , 2 min Read

Brought up in a small town of Yavatmal(Maharashtra), I have seen kids working in canteens, farms and roaming places. Right from a very small age, I use to ponder reasons for the same. As I gradually grew, I started to realize that the sole reason behind it is Education or rather the lack of it. As I started to grow older, I got completely convinced that Education is the most important part of childhood and I always thought of doing something regarding it, but my maturity at that time was unable to find ways to accomplish my goal.

I got admitted at IIT Kharagpur in 2014. I started to wonder if this could help me realize my dream. This is when I came to know about Gopali Youth Welfare Society[GYWS], a registered non-governmental organisation. I collected more information about it and found that it runs a school named Jagriti Vidya Mandir which provides free education to underprivileged children. I was immediately excited by the opportunities it presented and appeared for its selection process in July 2014, where I got selected.

I was a very active student back in my school days; participated in all possible competitions, took part in various sports and extracurricular activities. It made me realise the importance of such extra-curricular in shaping a student’s life. After joining GYWS in the year 2014, I have seen and organised numerous events at/for Jagriti Vidya Mandir. And the satisfaction of seeing smiles on the faces of children after they have participated in or witnessed an event is truly something to crave. The sole feeling of seeing children smile and knowing that I am one of the reasons behind it is simply amazing!

Also having been part of the team in GYWS that manages the school, I have interacted with the parents of some kids. They always mention how lucky they are to be able to send their children to school. They talk about how their child has developed over these years. I can see pride in their eyes when they talk and the pride in their eyes provides satisfaction to my soul.

Believe me when I mention this, joining GYWS has been one of the best decisions of my life...“The most beautiful thing in this world is to see children smile, and the next big thing is to know that you are the reason behind that smile”