Gitesh, a mechanical engineer and an aspiring entrepreneur, grew up in Delhi wanting to become an economist. But the societal pressure and orthodox mentality of the Indian diaspora forced him into the dungeons of Science and Mathematics. So, he pursued the next best thing – engineering. As the first engineer in the family, he graduated from Jamia Millia Islamia as a mechanical engineer, only then to find the dearth of the good engineering opportunities.
During his second year of engineering, he got a golden opportunity to open a chapter of Enactus in his University along with a group of 3 other fellow mates. They opened the chapter and managed to recruit an excellent team of 20 members. Their task was to encourage social entrepreneurship, develop new and low-cost technologies for the masses and help as many people as possible. They ultimately needed to give a presentation at the Enactus National Competition at Taj Mumbai at the year-end. Having an engineering background, he was given the position of Research Head. He was supposed to lead a team of 10 members and develop technologies and business models which would ultimately help the destitute and improve their quality of lives. The team secured the first rank, despite getting tough competition from 134 colleges including S.R.C.C, IIT Delhi, DTU etc.
Meanwhile, he was keenly involved in a lot of extracurricular activities like organizing the first TEDx and Josh Talks in his university, opening up a research society in the department of mechanical engineering, working as a student ambassador for Centre for United Nations and working as a Placement Coordinator for University Placement Cell.
Having realized the potential of Social Entrepreneurship and empowering the masses, he launched a full-fledged startup, Aaghaaz-e-Taeem, an unconventional movement aimed at improving education standards amongst the poor and underprivileged kids. The program model includes teaching 15 underprivileged kids who don’t even have access to proper school education and provide 60 hours basic education to ensure overall development of mental and physical capacities of these young dreamers. At the end of 60 hours, the student is enrolled in a nearby government school and provided with regular follow up sessions for the next one month. In the near future, Gitesh plans on completing a master’s in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University and subsequently work in the social sector. He firmly believes “Millions of underprivileged children in India are deprived of their basic rights. They are unable to complete their education, are subjected to abuse, and forced into labor at a tender age. I chose to lead the CRY JMI chapter because I know the power of connecting and empowering people. If I could motivate and sensitize even ten students of this university for the cause of child rights by the end of my term, I believe my work will be done.
Being a firm believer in Mahatma Gandhi he ended his account by the very famous quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world”. And concluded by affirming that “If we change nothing, nothing will change.”
