Divya Priyadarshni, a 24-Year-Old Phenomenal Social Worker from Bihar

 

The youth of every country is recognized to represent the future, as they bring new ideas and energy to the society that contribute to the development of the country as well as enhancement of the standard of living of common men. In every part of the world young people work as the catalysts to bring change to the areas of education, technology, and economy. Divya Priyadarshni, a 24-year-old chemistry postgraduate from Bihar went the extra mile to provide education to the children of extremely underprivileged backgrounds in her nearby localities. 

Learning from life’s catastrophes, Divya was well aware of the struggles faced by the girls of lower-middle-class families. Born in a patriarchal society, from an early age, Divya faced all those difficulties that are encountered by any other girl in Indian society. However, she did not lose hope and continued fighting for the rights of every child – the right to education for a better life. Her struggles gave her the strength and compassion to strive for girls with a similar fate. At the early age of 12 years, Divya started educating extremely underprivileged children living around her residential area and continued that for the next three years. Her zest towards social work that started with that initiative brought her the overwhelming satisfaction of helping the unfortunate with something as basic and important as education.

 

Being a bright student from her childhood, Divya Priyadarshni has achieved various awards throughout her academic journey and was awarded the Pratibha Samman after completing class 10th. Hailing from a lower-middle-class family, Divya was not willing but continued higher studies in science, so it can help her to build a secure career in the future. However, Divya’s brilliance was not restricted to her academic grounds. She started working on a project called ‘Nirman’, under which she has identified the problem within a community and led many projects like English Literacy and Wall Kalakaar. Nirman signifies positive structuration and Divya aimed to build skills like leadership, critical thinking, collaboration, and teamwork in students through this project. She understood that student can achieve their goal in life through a collaborative voice and set up a student council for that purpose.

She believes in skill-based education and is trying to develop under the Life and Entrepreneurship Skill Enhancement Program in Secondary education. Even during the Covid 19 pandemic, she was committed to spreading awareness to the areas with no or limited internet access. She has put in her best efforts to bridge the communication from one student to another and provide the accurate information that she can by grass root level community immersion.

During the introduction of the National Education Policy (NEP) in July 2020, Divya organized an online session based on the vital roles played by teachers in creating an overall impact on the student’s life with improved pedagogy and innovative way of teaching. NEP is the first education policy of this century that is focused on the rising developmental imperatives of our country and is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Divya’s initiative to strengthen this policy is supported by teachers as well as Gandhi fellows and student leaders. Apart from that, Divya also organized a workshop where she discussed making the schools of the Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan ready for innovation based on life and entrepreneurship skills. 

Divya is currently working on a project named SPOT-ON with two of her friends - Ankit Pandey and Abhay Kumar Ojha. The mission of this project is to help existing SHGs (Self Help Group) to produce sanitary napkins in micro-units and provide them the required raw materials, access to finance and subsidies, and maintenance services for that purpose. This project received instant appreciation in the neighborhood and by govt. The efforts and enthusiasm to bring a positive change in society are applauded with an award at the Festival for Change contest in Promoting Economic Pluralism. She is also working as a policy enthusiast with a group associated with the public policy domain. Divya believes that “The idea which is going to nurture a community is the best possible gift you can return to your community”.