“My new life began with Aashayein”, says Arzoo Bhurani, a Microbiology student from Than, Gujarat, who attended the Aashayein camp in 2017. Organised by AKYSB,I, the “Aashayein” programme is a residential camp, set in Hyderabad, that brings together youth from across small and under-served pockets in Saurashtra. Under the watchful eye of a team of facilitators, these youth embark on a 21-day journey of experiential learning, designed to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and realize their inner potential. Combined with robust follow up and hand-holding after the camp, Aashayein has encouraged many of its alumni to eventually migrate to larger towns and cities, to seek better opportunities and a better quality of life.
“Before I got to know about the Aashayein camp, I was studying and doing a part-time job in Rajkot. I was not serious at all”, says Vishal Charaniya, originally from Dhari, a small village in Gujarat. “There was no larger goal. It was just that I was earning a bit of money from my job so I continued to do it”, he says.
But Aashayein helped him change direction. Through a series of interactions with his facilitators (whom Vishal credits as his inspiration), he felt encouraged to redraw his roadmap. He subsequently went on to complete his Bachelor’s degree in Commerce and is in the process of building his own start-up. He is now able to financially support his family, in Dhari.
These simple realisations at the camp are often born from activities and experiences that prompt reflection and change. Aashayein offers a structured curriculum of experiential learning, immersion, personal reflection and goal-setting, that brings to the collaborative efforts of a range of other Jamati institutions. A rigorous needs assessment, often involving field trips to villages that are home to these young participants, ensures that each Aashayein camp, is curated to the needs of its incoming batch. While the results may be long-term, the impact is immediate.
Take the example of Aashayein’s theatre workshops for example, where participants are asked to enact their future plans, seeding the aspiration to achieve these goals. “As a part of one of the theatre activities at the camp, I was asked to enact what I wanted to become in the future”, says Sahil Kajani, from Kodinar, Gujarat, as he reflects on his experience. “I enacted the role of a safety officer who runs an NGO. After that, becoming a nurse and starting an NGO became my career goal”, he says.
But Aashayein doesn’t end with inspiration and imagination, alone. Making students tap into their inner potential is just the first step. Aashayein organizes various visits to corporate offices, NGOs and start-ups, where students get to learn the nitty-gritties of what it is like to work in a professional set-up.
After these visits, the participants are offered one-on-one career counselling sessions to empower them to chalk out a clear career trajectory and take their own decisions. Central to this process is the sustained guidance of the facilitators at the Aashayein camp.
“My baima made me realize that if I want to upgrade my lifestyle and grow faster, I would have to shift to a metro city where more opportunities are available”, says Vishal. “As a result, I decided to shift to Hyderabad.”, he says. Another participant, Itisha Popatiya, from Porbandar, Gujarat, echoes a similar experience “If I wouldn’t have received the right kind of advice at the right time to shift to Hyderabad, I would have stayed back in my village in Gujarat with very limited opportunities”, she says.
However, uprooting themselves from their home towns and moving to new cities of opportunity isn’t easy. The process of immersing oneself in a completely new culture, and adapting to the city life without the support of one’s family is always a challenge. But it is one, that the participants don’t have to face on their own. At the close of each camp, those participants who express an interest in migrating to larger towns and cities, have a support network available. From facilitating conversations with their parents, to arranging individual mentors when they choose to migrate and resettle, every effort is made to keep the spark of change burning brightly.
“Our baimas engaged us in activities that provided a perspective of how life out there really is” says Arzu. “These activities made us realize that in the process of achieving something, you will face a lot of barriers. Despite all of that, moving ahead is important no matter what comes your way”, she says.
The determination to move forward in spite of the odds is central to so many of Aashayein’s success stories. Vishal’s move to Hyderabad is helping him support his family in Dhari. Sahil Kajani’s “theatre” enactment is coming true: he is in the process of coming up with a team of volunteers and starting his NGO, which aims to provide first-aid care in orphanages in Hyderabad. Itisha is now in her second year, pursuing a degree in Accounting, Economics, and Commerce as a path to becoming a Company Secretary. Arzu is currently pursuing the field of her dreams, Microbiology, and has consistently achieved distinction.
These success stories shed light into the deep impact that a short 21-day camp like Aashayein can have in empowering the youth from the smallest villages and towns in Saurashtra. Through a process of metamorphosis, Aashayein inspires, new beginnings and new learnings, all in the pursuit of better job opportunities, education, and a better quality of life.
“You just have to hope”, says Sagar Kotadiya from Keshod. “Aashayein can make you fly.”
About the Author : Monika Bhalvani is an alumna of Ashoka University. She holds a B.A. (Hons.) in Psychology with Sociology, and is currently working as an Assistant Manager, at the Office of Learning Support at Ashoka University.
