Sponsored: An endeavour for a better tomorrow: the story behind Prayas – An attempt

Sometimes, a little help can be a great help. Unfortunately, not many make this attempt to bring a big change in the lives of the less fortunate. Most of us are either too busy to look at life closely and find joy in little wonders or we are too overwhelmed with our own lives and the constant race that has come to be a part of the social culture nowadays.

Shivani Kamdar and Aarti Agarwal are among those rare gems who came forward to tread a fresh journey to support the underprivileged section of the society with a simple cloth distribution campaign, albeit being married and living busy lives. Seagram’s 100 Pipers chooses to appreciate their valor and humane spirit with their benign initiative, #BeRememberedForGood.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step and so did ours. Prayas – An Attempt is determined to bring in a change, having a non-political and non-religious mission with support from strong-minded supporters striving to work in favor of the society,” Shivani said.

Providing education to small kids from the deprived class has been Shivani’s and Aarti’s lookout since a long time. They have only been able to fulfill it with their recent community, Prayas that started on 6th November, 2013 and has since garnered much support from generous and kind sponsors.

_“_Since the initial phase, Prayas has been striving to work towards providing education capabilities, health concerns, and hygiene and employment options and till date with support from our sponsors, we have been able to achieve all to a certain extent. We want to continue working on all the 4 areas,” Shivani affirmed.

Not only educating young minds but also working towards better living conditions and life values for the deprived adults, Shivani and Aarti’s Prayas is an endeavor to build activities for a better tomorrow.

“We try to make learning easy for kids by preparing educational charts in Maths, storytelling, English grammar, value education and Science. Moreover, educational toys such as blocks, board games and one-on-one sessions help us to mentor these children,” Aarti claimed.

With educational toys for 80 kids, yearly books for 45 children and school fee payments for 2 kids annually, Shivani and Aarti have started small but are fully determined to bring big smiles on the faces of the little dreamers. They have even been able to provide computer education and teach written and spoken skills to about eight children.

They don’t, however, see age as a limiting factor for receiving educational help. “Learning and the willingness to learn are the most important factors”, according to the duo.

Unfortunately, even the pursuit to provide the basic need of education to young minds has witnessed several obstacles. “Convincing parents to send the kids to school regularly has been the biggest hurdle so far. There are many who want to seek computer education and learn written and spoken English or take up other activity courses. However, convincing parents and arranging funds have been the biggest hurdle,” Aarti shared.

But, as they say, “where there is a will, there’s a way.” The like-minded duo were surely motivated despite the hurdles and kept up the good work with social media and messaging campaigns, newspaper collection drives, organizing activities around festivals for kids and health check-ups for the deprived masses.

Magic shows, electrifying performances by jugglers, Diwali and Christmas celebrations, doctor’s camps for dental check-ups and health care routines are some of the activities the women have been working on for those who have never had access to recreations or health basics.

Apart from the social media, even friends and relatives have helped the high-spirited duo by spreading the word of their Prayas (efforts). Shivani and Aarti further urge the society to look beyond their petty issues and take responsibility to support at least one underprivileged child with basic necessities of food, education and health.

Their initiative of building brighter future for the underprivileged section of the society speaks volumes about their kindred spirits to help build a better world with more happiness, opportunities and improved lifestyles for all. This spirit of ‘doing good’ selflessly for those who need help or want to achieve the best in their life but cannot accomplish it due to lack of awareness, social and moral support, will  #BeRememberedForGood .