Our country’s youth are powerful agents of change who possess a huge, untapped potential to bring positive change in our society. The UN themselves have acknowledged the fact that without the involvement of our younger generation, it’d be next to impossible for us to be a superpower, let alone achieve the crucially important Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Things, however, are not smooth sailing for them because today they find themselves under unheard levels of stress. It might be the weight of our expectations, peer pressure, the fear of being labelled as an underachiever or just the thought of living and fighting for a world where their relevance is often questioned. That said, things tend to get even worse if they hail from a lower socioeconomic background.

These are grave issues, and thankfully, there are NGOs out there who are playing a transformative role by working with them to achieve greater impact at grassroots levels and moulding them to be the valuable citizens of our country. Sa-Mudra Foundation is one such NGO that’s working for the empowerment of our youth by providing counselling, personality development training, skill-based training, and preparing them to face failures while reducing suicidal tendencies.

I recently got an opportunity to interact with the Sa-Mudra Foundation team and their charismatic founder and leader Smt. Bharathi Singh. Although I was there to talk about my life experiences, I ended up learning more from them about their foundation and their awe-inspiring projects. Be it academics, career or life; teenagers often find it difficult to live up to the expectations of others. They are often tagged as a “failure”, which tends to affect their morale and motivation. Sa-Mudra’s commitment to eliminate this tag from their lives and helping them embrace positivity is highly commendable.

During my time there, I learned that Sa-Mudra has completed eleven years of an eventful journey where they have successfully left a permanent mark on the canvas of community development.

We must take time to remember that our youth today carry the weight of a thousand things tucked inside them. I wrote this to reach out to them, or for someone you might know, who needs support in battling stress, anxiety, low-esteem or depression. It doesn’t matter if they are an adult or a teenager, at Sa-Mudra, I’m sure they’ll receive more than a safe space to share their emotions, all of which will ultimately help them find their true inner self.