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Youth Work Pays

Aprajita Pandey, who recently received the Commonwealth Youth Work Award, Asia, 2014 talks about challenges, passion and why she does what she does

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Aprajita was nominated for the Commonwealth Youth Worker Award 2014 for the work she has been doing with social organisation Haiyya, since September 2013. The 28-year old has previously been associated with organizations like Special Cell for Women and Children (Dadar) CHETNA (Ahmedabad), Chaupal (Chhattisgarh), and Digital Green.

According to Layne Robinson, Head of Youth Programmes at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Aprajita was chosen as the Asia regional winner, “because of the exciting work that she and her organisation are doing to engage and empower young people, especially young women. Her organisation’s focus on political participation at the grassroots level and building an active citizenry is strengthening democratic and accountability structures in India. Aprajita’s passion and dedication to youth development is evident, and should be applauded.”

Aprajita is currently working on a Fellowship program called Haiyya Fellowship 6.0 (the 6th batch of Haiyya Fellows) amongst other things. Haiyya runs fellowship programs across Delhi and Mumbai to provide support to citizens who want to address civic issues in their neighborhood through campaigns. 

Here's what Aparajita told us about what work and life had taught her this far.

On Challenges: Challenges have always opened up new perspectives. I look at challenges as an opportunity for something different to happen or to test my own resilience. Being a community organizer is all about resilience and building upon moments of crisis to get people together and inspire them to act. Future challenges would involve connecting with people from different socio-economic groups in an urban setting to  build an alternate narrative of collective strength on shared problems. 

My toughest challenge to date has been enabling people to believe in their own power and leadership skills to bring about the change they need. As much as change is about questioning the wrong thing, it is also about taking responsibility to act as a citizen or as a public official. When you work, you would see how difficult it is to build collective power within citizens to engage with the governance.

On Change: The best thing about the work that I do is the change that comes within me as a human when I meet so many different people and work with diverse communities and groups. Each and every experience enhances the connection I have with myself and with the society. I unlearn my past knowledge; I unload my own baggage and stereotypes. Books cannot teach you what people can. 

On Rewards:  The 28-year-old's most rewarding experience has been working with a group of 15 young community leaders from Haiyya's women’s safety campaign who approached Station Head Officer of Malviya Nagar in New Delhi and presented their demands on improving safety conditions in their area. “That was one moment when I was saw people’s power and their potential to engage with governance as an organized group of citizens,” she remarks.

While the Commonwealth Youth Worker Award, which consists of a trophy and a certificate, offers  recognition, rather than monetary aid, this does not detract from the joy of having your work being recognised. “Winning the award has given credibility to the work that I have been doing with Haiyya in our 1.5-year journey. It has given me strong hope and belief that our approach and model is effective,” says Aprajita. 

On Tough Times: Born and brought up in the small town of Raigarh in Chhattisgarh with parents, who work in the publice sector Aprajita is no stranger to hard work or the struggle involved in achieving your dream. Like all middle-class families, hers laid much emphasis on education and career, motivating  her to succeed and looking for opportunities to grow at every step.  

Through a ten-year trial that ensued when her father was wrongfully accused, Aprajita saw a wonderful gender role reversal where her mother became the bread-winner and my father the main caretaker and nurturer. All her questions about society, criminal justice system and inequality were addressed only when she joined the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for a Masters in Social Work (TISS) in 2010 after completing a B.Tech in Biotechnology from Vellore Institute of Technology. 

On Passion: If you live your life doing what you are passionate about, you will certainly be happy at the end of the day. And what else do you want from life than happiness! Work is my passion and I cannot imagine disconnecting from it for very long. And that’s probably the worst thing because you never know how to stop working and when to stop working and give time to your family and friends or even yourself. At times passion has to sleep and then wake up next morning to start working with a fresh mind. 

 

 

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