Chetan Pardeshi has proactively been into social work right from his school days. He started volunteering and contributing his time to social service by working on several projects, such as waste management, during his school days. And all of this at 13!
Today, with an elaborate experience of 9+ years in community development, Chetan has predominantly worked for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). He has been honored with the prestigious National Youth Award and the UN award for his remarkable work. He has always envisioned community development in diversified ways. The National Youth Awardee has been an event professional for over five years and has good expertise in project management and campaign formations.
Chetan Pardeshi founded a non-governmental organization, S For Schools. He has been running this organization, intending to decrease the dropout rates of Schools. S For Schools works continuously towards reducing and erasing the dropout rates of children from schools in rural areas. S For Schools is a project that involves working with parents and teachers from rural villages to develop faith in them.
This process encourages the dropped-out students to get back to school. Currently, the team is working towards building up 70+ libraries in government schools that will help the children explore their thinking power.
S For Schools has conducted over 16 different school programs in various parts of the state. It has been actively working since 2016 when Mr. Chetan Pardeshi founded it and has contributed in various forms to enhance students’ conditions of minds from rural areas.
S For Schools aims to change the way education is. It integrates critical sustainable development issues about teaching and learning, networking, associating, and enabling the educational community to realize the vision and motivate groups of people to take part actively in large numbers to contribute to academic development. It conducts several grass-root level programs, such as
Bringing Them Back to School:
Team S For Schools first decide the area that needs to be under strict observation after thoroughly studying the information and data received previously. It depends on the location’s factors and which place is more accessible for S For Schools to work and commute. The groundwork begins, and once completed, the process starts with the survey.
Survey and research of the area include detailed surveying of the place they have shortlisted and then preparing a report. The report majorly comprises the size of the village and dropout ratio in the last three years. The team speaks with the teachers and sarpanch of the town. Then it prepares another report and finds what to do. Once they finish brainstorming, the team shells out the requirements on social media and other channels for donors and volunteers to fulfill them. They do not receive donations through cash payments.
They keep in mind the exams dates of the volunteers plus the school curriculum. The team takes care of logistics with the expenses themselves since the rural areas are far from where they live. Then they form a group and complete the documentation like permissions etc., as and when required.
S For Schools has been conducting counseling workshops that help in improving their skills. It also ensures that an adequate amount of food is served to students. S For Schools is a project that directly contributes and affects Sustainable Development Goals like:
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- Zero Hunger SDG2
- Good Health and Well Being SDG 3
- Quality Education SDG4
- Gender Equality SDG5
- Reduced Inequalities SDG10
- Partnership for the goals SDG17
Meet The Mentor
This is a unique engagement program under the S For Schools initiative. The organization has a team of mentors working in different fields like IT Professionals, Engineers, Doctors, designers, and Managers Etc.
This process depends on what kind of place/ school/ area the team is visiting. Once the team completes the town with enough information about the students, they contact the relevant mentors available for the training of those students.
Mobile Libraries
Mobile libraries are a program that aims to improve students’ vocabulary, speaking, and to read to students from rural schools. Many students studying in Marathi or regional schools fear not being able to talk in English compared to city students. To break this mental barrier, they started mobile libraries. Each library contains different genres of books like storybooks, nonfiction, mythology books, or freedom fighters books.
The size of the library and the number of books in it depends on the students in schools. On the day of the inauguration of the library, the team conducts an essay writing competition. It helps to define the current ability of the students. During six months, they give a chance to students to read the books during their school hours and address their doubts regarding words they don’t know.
The class teacher then explains to them the meaning of words and helps them use them in the sentence where it is suitable, enhancing their vocabulary. Collectively, this contributes to the student’s confidence and helps them learn English. After six months, they provide the library of one school to the other and vice versa, making the library moveable and ensuring that no one gets repeated books.
Tentatively after six months, when all students are done reading the books, the team visits again to check the impact and implementation of the mobile libraries. They again conduct an essay writing competition to see the difference in the student’s writing style and usage of extra words.
A few of his other social projects with a massive impact on society include the following.
Road Safety Initiative
The Road Safety Initiative taken by Chetan aims to curb the road safety problems in India. The Prestigious Youth Service America Fellowship, Washington DC (World’s Biggest Youth Organization), awarded Chetan this work. He won a fellowship of 1000 USD for his work and won the best project award.
Guinness World Record
Chetan has also conducted the Largest Adolescents Health Awareness Lesson and held the Guinness World Record. He aimed to create and raise awareness about Adolescent health, Period Cycles in women, and other safety measures as directed by the World Health Organization and United Nations.
For the impressive and tireless work that Chetan has been doing, different awards, and recognitions, like being a TEDx Speaker at MNIT Jaipur, National Youth Award, UN Award, Best Project award by Youth Service America, Washington DC, Young Achievers Award by NYKS, Government of India, Awarded Fellowship by TERI and TETRA PAK, Interned with Commonwealth Youth Council, Guinness World Record, Awarded by the Mayor of PCMC City for Social Work, Outstanding Social Work Award given by PCET Trust, and Young Social Worker by Swami Vivekananda Trust, have been awarded to Mr.Chetan Pardeshi.
It is truly because of multi-talented stalwarts like Chetan Pardeshi that the two far edges of our unequal society are brought closer together to live and thrive in harmony.
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