Having left a well-paid job to pursue his passion of serving humanity, 30-year-old Sandeep Kumar Chadha has set an example for many.
He says his previous jobs as Assistant Professor in DAV College from 2013 to 2018 and then District Programme Coordinator for Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan from 2018 to 2019, gave him all that he desired for but not the inner peace and mental satisfaction he craved for.
Sandeep said having realised the fact that youth in Punjab has got immense potential and there is no one to show them a right path, he decided to do something that serves both humanity and engages youth in a cause that helps bring a change in the society. “I started this Youth Services Club in 2019 with the aim to give back something to the society. I always had the aspirations to help usher realistic social change and I knew I cannot bring this change if I don’t engage the young and energetic minds”, he said.
“I now have a team of around 15 members and there are also many students both teenagers as well youngsters associated with me as volunteers. We all are working towards a number of social causes including greenery, waste management, traffic discipline, equality, women empowerment and among others. Besides, we have also conducted more than 30 events in rural areas of Jalandhar like seminars, rallies, competitions, sports tournaments, to attract more youth towards social service and aware people of their rights”, he said.
Divulging more details about his life as a social worker, Sandeep Chadha said, “I am living my passion”. He said a true sense of security and peace cannot be obtained simply with personal gain and satisfaction. Rather, it is achieved by helping others and bringing a smile to other faces. “We through this club are making sure we help all those in need. We even feed stray animals on a daily basis and the work is solely being managed by teams of youths, so that we put in them the feeling of compassion”, he added.
He further said that during covid-19 lockdown, his club religiously worked to help those rendered jobless and suffered huge losses. “Covid-19 pandemic has been a tough time for all. Though things are heading back to normal, people are still facing myriad difficulties. My team during the lockdown period worked so hard to serve all those migrants who were going back home and were rendered jobless”, he said.
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He said that from distributing ration, cooked meals to feeding stray animals to sanitizing the localities, the team of Youth Services Club went door to door to aware people and appealed them to stitch home-made masks and then they distributed it among the needy persons. “We even catered to the needs of those who were stuck at hospitals, bus stands, railway station and at other places due to lockdown”, he added.
Talking about his future plans, Sandeep said, “We are planning to conduct more and more career counseling programmes for the youth, to motivate them to stay in India and pursue their dreams here. Besides, we are trying our best to aware people of their rights and duties and promoting education and equality”, he said.