Ideapreneur India spoke
to Dr. Geetanjali Chopra, Founder & President, Wishes & Blessings, to
know more about projects, and how the NGO is gearing up its 'Daily Meal
Program' to bring a change in the marginalized community in India.
1. Please give a brief about your journey. What made you interested in NGO?
I have been involved in
academics and research for more than a decade. Coming from an educational
background in journalism and humanitarian law, I had the opportunity to have a
career filled with a plurality. While working at the Centre for Policy
Research, I was caught in a dilemma - one half of me wanted to give everything
up and re-imagine my life, working for underprivileged people, and the other
half wanted to further explore the exciting world of academics and policymaking
and to continue on this growth trajectory. I strongly believe that in life,
there is a pre-destined call. One might listen to it later, but it is bound to
keep recurring in front of you until you realize and recognize it. I finally
listened to mine in 2014, when I decided to establish my NGO - Wishes and Blessings.
2. What is the main objective of the NGO?
Wishes and Blessings was
envisioned to be a platform for connecting donors with beneficiaries to spread
happiness and make dreams come true. We started by working with visually
impaired children and soon our family grew to include orphanages, old-age homes
and shelters for the homeless. Presently, we work across the barriers of age,
gender, economic and social barriers and work for 6 causes, including accessible
education, elderly care, food and nutrition, SOS relief, customizable charity
and the overall cause of happiness.
3. What changes do you want to bring in society?
Wishes and Blessings
envisions building a world with equal opportunities, where the word
‘underprivileged’ no longer exists. We aspire to make happiness accessible to
one and all, by making resources accessible. We do so by empowering dreams,
spreading happiness, promoting quality education, nurturing good health and
offering immediate and long term support.
4. What are the challenges you faced?
Naturally, leaving a
well-established career in academics and research that sprang over a decade and
transitioning into a whole new dimension was not a very smooth process, for me.
I had to face raised eyebrows from loved ones as they were worried that I was
about to embark on a journey I had 0% experience in. I have learnt everything
on my own, with time and my patience being the primary mentors. Facing all my
fears and owning up to my decision, I went full steam ahead and never looked
back.
5. Tell us about your biggest project which have bring an effective change in society.
Being a multifaceted
organization, Wishes and Blessings does not have just one focus project,
however, the impact and multitude of the lives that we have been able to touch
through our initiatives, have been different for each cause, depending upon the
needs of our beneficiaries. One of the most serious problems that India is
facing today is chronic hunger. Through our Daily Meals Programme, we have been
able to make a significant difference in the lives of the underprivileged in 8
states across India. Under this project, we have been providing hot and
nutritious cooked food to the marginalized with the hope to prevent them from
going to sleep on an empty stomach. We have also been providing ration support
to at-risk families in areas where cooked food cannot be provided. It is indeed
humbling for us as an organisation to have served over 30,00,000 meals and
distributed 80,000+ ration kits to the destitute through 25 different phases of
this project.
6. Which is your current main focussed project and why?
We are currently
executing Phase VI of our Covid Relief Project under which we have been
providing free of cost vaccination to underprivileged children aged 15-18
years, abiding by the national objective of a cent per cent vaccination.
Furthermore, we are also executing our new Covid Relief campaign, “Dabba BharaHai”, under which we have pledged to provide ration security and safety kits to
the marginalised in 3 states across India, to protect them from the ill-effects
of the ongoing Third Wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
7. A brief on any upcoming project.
We are looking forward to initiating
Phase XXVI of our Daily Meals Programme in March 2022. Under this phase, we are
aiming to provide hot and nutritious meals and essential ration support to
approximately 1,500 underprivileged people in 5 states across India, including
Delhi/NCR, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. We are looking
forward to expansion opportunities and will be happy to extend our support to
more people as per the funds and need on the ground.
8. Do you want to say some words on how individuals can help in social work that will result in good change for every person?
The nationwide lockdowns
witnessed a sudden influx of the masses into the social development sector.
However, as the effect of the pandemic fainted towards the end of the second
wave, seldom have we witnessed the continuation of their efforts to bring about
positive change. What needs to be understood is that working in the social
sector is not just an indulgence that can be explored as per the whims and
fancies of an individual, but is the main vocation that is as viable as any
other career located in other spheres. Therefore, if one wants to indulge in
the social sector either via full-time employment or through volunteering, one
has to show utmost dedication and passion to bring a ray of hope in the darkest
clouds of those lesser blessed.
Ideapreneur India is a media platform that covers stories of inspiring entrepreneurs and businesses that are challenging the norms and changing the rules of the game. We are moving towards creating a complete platform that can be valuable for the entrepreneur community to start, run and scale their enterprises. We strive to explore the latest in the world of startups and technology news At Ideapreneur India, we plan to focus our efforts in three main areas of Stories, Networking and Mentorship. 