Innovation. It’s a word we throw around all the time: for me I define a social innovator as someone who directs a significant problem away from a path of destruction, towards a path of construction. That’s why when I stumbled upon social entrepreneur Jyothindra Nath, I was truly inspired by what I found. As opposed to trying to seek government intervention or aid from the private sector, social entrepreneurs identify a problem and, to put it simply, try to fix it by implementing inventive solutions. They can alter the fate of a society just by starting the conversation and getting attention to the problem. In 2006, at the age of 20, Jyothindra Nath founded a non-profit social enterprise called Youth United based out of Chandigarh, India. Youth United is about empowering the youth of the nation to help each other and tackle problems such as primary education, gender equity, and maternal health.
In short, Jyothindra Nath and his organization believe in the potential of India’s youth and are seeking ways in which the hundreds of millions in the next generation can improve their own futures. As someone who has seen the disparity in India first hand and lived in a rural village for over 2 months, I cannot quantify my appreciation and admiration for this social entrepreneur and the feats his organization is conquering. India is a different world, the sadness truly lies within every bright child who has all the potential in the world, but will stay in the vicious cycle of poverty; all because there were no accessible resources.
Jyothindra Nath is the embodiement of the phrase “be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Read more about Youth United here: http://www.youthunited.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=31&Itemid=54