Varun Shrivastava (born 5 November 1986) is an Indian social reformer focused on education.[1] He is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. Shrivastava has received several awards including the "Young Alumni Achiever Award" conferred upon him by his alma mater.[2][1]
Varun Shrivastava | |
|---|---|
 | |
| UPAY NGO & NTPC LTD | |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Residence | Delhi |
| Alma mater | IIT Kharagpur |
| Profession | Social Activist, Engineer |
| Awards | Young Alumni Achiever's Award Maitry Gaurav award |
| Website | www |
Varun Shrivastava is working with NTPC Limited, a Maharatna PSU in India as a Senior Manager. He is the founder of UPAY(Under Privileged Advancement by Youth),[3] a non-profit working for underprivileged children. He is trained CSR Professional from IICA (Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs) and a keynote motivational speaker. He pioneered the concept of footpathshala through this organization.[4] It aims to replace begging bowls with books and bring schools to those who cannot reach school.[5] UPAY has reached 5 states, operating 40 education centers. It has impacted the lives of more than 10,000 children till now, helping them move beyond begging.[6]
Alongside he came up with an idea to make their families self-sustaining and hence, came up with an online e-commerce platform for them to sell handmade goods.[7]
Early life
editVarun was born in an agricultural family in Shahjahanpur village of Jhansi District in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. He attended a primary school in his village and later moved to Chirgaon, to complete his secondary school education from Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Chirgaon.[5] He studied electrical engineering at IIT Kharagpur.
He credits his mother with imparting values to him as a child that helped him develop.[8] Shrivastava was deeply moved by the predicament of children begging at traffic signals. Eventually, this gave him the impetus to start a movement for equitable education for every child.
Career
editHe interned as a Research Trainee at Telephonica (R&D) in Madrid, Spain for 3 months.[1] He pursued his passion of teaching in his college town.
NTPC Limited
editAfter graduating from college, he joined NTPC, Mouda as an Executive Engineer. He worked as Senior Manager in NTPC Ltd.
Under Privileged Advancement by Youth (UPAY)
editUPAY was created in 2010 by Shrivastava and two friends in Kumbhari village near Nagpur, Maharastra. Prioneering the concept of “footpathshala” he came to be known as “A Man turning Footpaths into Schools”.[9][6]
Footpathshala
editHe started this initiative in October 2015. It's an open school that runs on footpaths and provides basic education to street children.
Footpathshaala operates Nagpur, Pune, Gurugram, Delhi, Noida, Bangalore, and Mouda. Hundreds of poor children get a basic education. 30% of them enroll in schools.[10]
Recognition
editTimes of India referred to him as a Big Brother to street kids. He has been cited as among the top 10 ordinary Indians doing extraordinary things by Lokmat Samachar and other social media groups. He inspired youth from different backgrounds including doctors, engineers, college students, and teachers to take up the street children's cause and give them a motto of "Reach & Teach" underprivileged children.[11][12]
References
edit- ^ a b c "About News". alumni.iitkgp.ac.in. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur". www.iitkgp.ac.in. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
- ^ "About UPAY NGO | Non-Profit Organisation". 11 August 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Meet this changemaker who is transforming the lives of homeless children by replacing begging bowls with books".
- ^ a b "Mentor India LIVE with Aniruddh Sinha: Ft.Varun Shrivastava, IIT Kharagpur (Indian Social Reformer) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ a b "UPAY Footpathshala...Turning Footpaths into Schools - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "SabkaSaman – Crafting Dreams and Happiness". Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Meet IITian Varun Shrivastava who teaches slum children". Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "The Story Of Varun Shrivastava, From IIT To Teaching Slum Children". Fresh Tale. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ Parul Khare (3 May 2015), UPAY's Footpathshala at Sahara Samay National TV..., retrieved 21 August 2016
- ^ Chaitanya, Meeta (21 July 2013). "Ek UPAY, a solution". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "UPAY aiming to replace begging bowls with books through footpath shala". Times of India. June 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.