Helloooo there, my beloved readers! I hope you are doing fantastic today! I’m a 25 year old from Bharuch, India. Currently, I live in Naperville – a suburb west of Chicago, US. I have had the humble privilege of receiving education from some of the best schools in the world – Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and the University of Florida.

Currently, I work as a Software Engineer, building a predictive analytics platform for the industrial internet. In my free-time, I love being outdoors, playing music, and juggling. One of my favorite adventures has been completing the IronMan triathlon at Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. It took me 17 hours and 6 minutes to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 26.2 miles on a hot day with temperatures reaching 110 degrees! Yay!! Latest news is, I will be running the Chicago Marathon on October 9, 2016. However, this time, I have an additional incentive of fundraising for a noble cause!

We all know how critical education IS for human development. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world, having a decent education is also a luxury
Apart from being socially outcasted and deliberately deprived of equal status, women bear the brunt of poverty in rural India. This is especially true in the Naugarh Tehsil in the state of Uttar Pradesh, where women and children lag behind in education, health and other social parameters and do not have access to even basic rights and services.

Asha for Education is one of the few non-profits doing exemplary work in this area. Driven by volunteers, Asha hand-picks organizations and projects to sponsor, which guarantees minimal overhead costs and ensures a large impact dollar value for your donation. One such organization is Gramya Sansthan. It’s a civil society organisation which focuses on promoting women’s leadership to help enable women to access their basic rights and entitlements. These women have now become the  change agents in their communities and are tearing apart the barriers that were holding them back. By stepping out of their homes, overcoming personal struggles and being courageous leaders, they are successfully inspiring a generation of women in their villages to voice their demand for basic rights.

In Naugarh, Gramya has undertaken activities such as: Bal Kendra for children who cannot afford to go to school, self independence of women, and group activities. It feels great to be a part of this effort, and I look forward to help some of my lesser fortunate fellow human beings to achieve a slightly better future. You can learn more about this project here.

I plan to run the Chicago marathon while juggling three balls! One of my friends set a world record joggling a mile! Incredible, right?!! He was able to raise significant amount of money for the Japan Tsunami relief. How inspiring! Following his steps, I myself tried joggling a mile out of curiosity. Let me tell you, although everyone enjoys looking at it, it’s extremely challenging. That’s why, I believe this to be a terrific way to raise awareness! Check out my training for the marathon – https://www.strava.com/athletes/sanketpatel

Short Term:

• Ensuring quality education to the marginalized children of Dalit Community i.e. Musahars & Chamar, along with children of minorities.
• Ensure participation of community in the Management of Education Center and sensitize the community towards education along with enrollment of girls. The census data shows that the female literacy rate in this region is 47%. It is deplorable that one in two cannot read and write for themselves!

Long Term:

• Strengthening of People’s Union so that they may be able to demand schools from the Government and be sensitive towards ensuring education to all children along with securing other child rights as contained in the UN Charter.
• Educating women and raising awareness to enable them being self sufficient and catalyze social change
• Making the community empowered so that they may analyze and seek possible sustainable solutions to their problems.

This video beautifully describes how Women Leaders are the change makers

Together, we are transforming lives and building better futures. I look forward to your support in this endeavor. Thank you!