“I developed leadership qualities through various trainings like Youth Leadership Training and Youth Heath Corps.”- Prafulla Ghosh, Nivedita Community Care Centre, Srirampore

Hailing from a village in Srirampore, Hooghly, Prafulla, born into a poor family, was ever so grateful when he was enrolled into the Children International-SAHAY sponsorship program in 1997. His father, the only bread earner worked as a daily laborer hence providing every month for the family’s needs was one daunting challenge.

Amidst all this, the young man had the courage to face the uphill tasks of life bravely and today is a graduate in Sanskrit.

He recalls the help of a local tutor who assisted him in whatever way he could through High School. This left a lasting impression on Prafulla and it was then that the seed of volunteerism germinated in him. He desired to do something for others and reach out in whatever way he could, just like someone else had reached out to him in his time of need and crisis. He provides free tuitions and coaching to other underprivileged children in his area.

In 2008, he graduated from the sponsorship program and he took on a new role that of a volunteer through the Alumni Association. Prafulla decided to do something for the organization as a sign of gratitude.

Since he was proficient in computers, he decided to provide training to the Manager of the Youth Resource Centre. Besides that, he also helped the youth to form youth groups, helped social workers and engaged in other activities of the program.

In 2012 Prafulla became the Social and Financial Education mentor of his local community center. Through this training, he tried to help other youth to organize awareness rallies on various social issues, coach them and hold street drama and open show cultural events. As a mentor, Prafulla had the opportunity to also provide training to others.

Currently the young man is also a part-time Sanskrit teacher in Srirampore Radharani Vidyamandir.

(Prafulla is a volunteer with Children International-SAHAY. The Kolkata based NGO works with about 26,000 children and youth in eight districts of West Bengal. SAHAY is affiliated to Children International, Kansas City, U.S.A. More details on www.children.org)