Social worker Dev Pratap’s NGO ‘Voice of Slum’ ensures a bright future for the poor children

“Suffering is personal. It should not be spreaded to others”, says Dev Pratap. The social worker is the pioneer behind building an NGO named ‘Voice of Slum’. Much before this organisation came into existence, Dev had his fair share of struggles. Hailing from the Dabra area of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, he ran away from home at the age of 11 and stayed at railway stations. Later, Dev got a job as a ragpicker after which he eventually got to work as a waiter in a restaurant in Goa. 

Exploring work in a completely different city, and being away from home helped Dev get a job as territory sales manager. However, the unfortunate demise of his mother left him devastated with having no work and purpose in life. That’s when Dev Pratap met Chandni Di, and the duo decided to build a team of people to help the slum kids of their region. Intending to educate and empower the slum children, they incorporated ‘Voice of Slum’ on January 15, 2015. While Dev and Chandni went through a lot of turmoil during their early days, they are ensuring to give better education prospects by educating more than 500 slum children a year. 

Growing up as slum kids and now being the voice for them, the social workers are rightly shaping up the future of the slum children. With constant efforts, the primary mission of the NGO is to give the slum children opportunities and help them reach their potential through education and employment opportunities. Along with this, a lot of slum children are being benefited by the right education programs that have helped them enter mainstream society. In the last few years, the NGO has raised a lot of funds and are marching towards empowering almost every child with education and employment.

Currently, Dev Pratap is all set to launch a project called ‘Voice of Slum Feed The Slum’ that will be led by his NGO. Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the social entrepreneurs have distributed more than 20 lakh meals to slum children. “During this time, a lot of people lost jobs and were laid off from the companies. The children in the slum areas went unnoticed. However, our NGO has made sure to feed hungry and malnourished children with meals. Approximately 1000 slum children are fed every day, and we hope to reach people all over India”, stated Dev. 

Moreover, Dev has envisaged taking the NGO on a pan India level in the coming years. For his exceptional works, he has been felicitated with various awards like the Karmaveer Chakra Award and Sawera Award. Making his voice reach thousands of people, Dev Pratap has been an influential speaker at TEDx and Josh Talks. Continuing the noble work, he is rightly letting his voice and work reach every nuke and corner of the country.

Disclaimer- Brand desk content