My role has changed over the last 10 years from a student to a volunteer, to an alumni, to a fundraiser, and now to a donor to this initiative. Yet, I still get goosebumps when I visit a village to light up a household. Personally, visiting the villages to install solar lights is an experience beyond words... An experience that inspires me to do better every day and restores my faith in humanity. I have participated in many rural visits over the years but what has remained common throughout all my visits is the simplicity and hospitality offered by each villager. Right from meeting our grass-root level NGO partners, crossing over all those uncomfortable roads to reach the destination, villagers welcoming us at an assembly point where mattresses are arranged for us under a tree along with cold water, children gathering around with curiosity to see what goodies we have brought in those big boxes to all the women feeling shy to interact with us and covering their faces/heads with a dupatta. My personal favorite is when the distribution of solar lights begins and each villager comes in front to accept his/her light. During this process, we encourage them to either put their signature or a thumb impression confirming the receipt. The joy of empowerment that I have witnessed in the eyes of the villagers while putting the signature is profound. When we proceed with the installation process, all of them welcome us to their households and greet us with genuine warmth. The solar light not only lights up the house but also their faces. Most of my visits have ended with me coming back to the assembly with gratitude and hands full of cucumbers 🙂

During this rewarding journey of social change, I have been extremely blessed to have met some great fellow students and CRDF staff who have taken this program to this height. For me, one of the best things in life is “seeing a smile on a person’s face and knowing that I am the reason behind it”. I am grateful to Project Chirag for giving me the platform to witness a lot of smiling faces. Furthermore, I am determined to grab every opportunity that crosses my path to put a smile on these villagers’ faces in the coming years.

I have been with Project Chirag as a Youth Ambassador since February of 2021. I was pitched by my massi and my mom about how Chirag is a great initiative and I should be proud that I was a Youth Ambassador, and even though I was, I honestly did... not understand what they did as an organization. I was isolated in my little Short Hills bubble and was not able to recognize Chirag’s work. I was just blinded by the title of Youth Ambassador that would go on my résumé. When I found out that I would be doing an internship program with Project Chirag during my summer break, I was excited – not for the reason that I would be doing charitable work, but because I was going to work in an office with other interns. Then, I found out about the village visit. I honestly don’t know what I felt about it. I was excited to go see everything that this organization has done firsthand at the site(s), but then I was nervous that my gora self was going to go to an isolated village with no light or clean water. One where I had to go to the bathroom in the bushes. The village trip changed my perspective of Project Chirag, or rather it changed my motivation. At first, the motivation behind Youth Ambassador and Intern was always just that it would go on my résumé as charity work and it will help me get into a good college, but after the trip, it changed to actually wanting to do the work for the people and children of the villages rather than the résumé. The first school that we visited, ZP Upper Primary School in Wahagav, was honestly my favorite. Everything felt so real. I walked into a classroom and waved to two students, and everyone waved back laughing and smiling. In the next classroom, 6 kids were wrestling and play-fighting. In the next, numbers were being counted and songs were being sung. These were all things that I did back in elementary school as well. The school made it possible for me to actually connect to what I was doing. All these kids were just like us, except they deserved much more that was not being given to them. There was even a painting on the wall of a water filtration system, one they did not have. A painting of the water cycle. Of the solar system. Of the squares of 1-10. Again, all things that we learned as well. The next stop was an Anganwadi in Ambhu. This was where I installed a fan and two lightbulbs and saw the installation of a solar street light. Putting together the fan and then hanging the two bulbs immediately brought upon a sense of self-satisfaction. Although the chair was shaking (not my legs), my hands were being bitten by mosquitoes, and the bulb wire was not going through, when everything came together, I immediately felt really proud of myself. Proud that one school was going to be able to have light. One school was going to be able to have a fan. One school would be able to run more smoothly. Then I realized it was one school. There were hundreds more and there would always be hundreds more. The idea of learning in immense heat without any light and going back to a home where there again was no light and only dirty water to quench your thirst was no longer inconceivable. The next village was Tambdewadi. This was where I actually saw a couple of people coming to fill their buckets with water. There was a very old woman who came, followed by a girl not more than 7 years old who did the same. This opened my eyes to the young age at which these children were exposed to the hardships that they will have to endure for the majority of their lives. In Padharwadi, I was able to see the solar panels on the pond. This gave way to 6 outlets that would help with farming and irrigation, as that was virtually the only source of income for the villagers. We even had a discussion with a former Naval officer who, after retiring, came back to the village to stay. The next and final village was Viram. Not much was done in Viram, besides the fact that we ate an extremely delicious meal and I was made to climb up a hill against my will. Additionally, we saw a massive well so deep we could not even see the pump that fed water into the tank. The food that we ate was the true farm-to-table experience. It was one of the most delicious meals I had in quite a while – even the rice was delicious. The locals who welcomed us into their home were very kind and appreciative of the work Chirag was doing. They made food for upwards of 10 people without taking a single rupee. I realized how giving and kind the villagers are, regardless of the situation they are in. In conclusion, the village visit with Project Chirag changed the determination I had to work with them. My perspective shifted from one that was focused on my résumé to one that was actually focused on the people and the villages. It opened my eyes to the villagers and how they were really very similar to any one of us. It was also very self-fulfilling when I physically helped make a change when installing the lightbulbs, making the fan, and even seeing the previous work the organization that I can now call myself a part of has done.