Audiopedia would be nothing without its volunteers. We would like to introduce you to some of them with our "Volunteer Stories". This one is about Abantika from India. She is an undergraduate student from the city of Kolkata pursuing her Bachelors in Microbiology.
"I am Abantika Ghosh, an undergraduate student from the city of Kolkata, India. Currently, I am pursuing my Bachelors (Honours) in Microbiology, from Scottish Church College.
Two quotations have always inspired me. The first one is something I have always heard: „Young people can change the world“. The question therefore is, how do the youth make a difference and create a better world? The answer I figured out, is „through volunteering“. Yes, I am inspired to do my bit to support the cause of creating a better world, through uplifting of under-privileged women and children, using education as the weapon to combat poverty.
The second quote that inspires me is: „Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.“
Today, poor rural children and women have very limited education and access to facilities, and they cannot use education effectively, and that needs to change. I therefore focused on volunteering towards rural children & women education, and have done a series of projects in this sphere... I have been selected as a finalist in the iVolunteer Awards 2018, which celebrates the spirit of volunteerism in India.
I was privileged to start volunteering with numerous organizations which provide quality education to poor rural schools across the country by utilizing its pool of volunteer-teachers to teach them remotely through Video Conferencing & Skype. For the past 2 years, I have worked with them as a content writer and as a remote-teacher, and have also visited these rural schools and seen the children become more knowledgeable through such support. I am also associated with Wikitongues, for preserving native languages and cultural heritage globally, and supporting growth of knowledge in native languages.
During this period, I came across Audiopedia, and joined them as a volunteer translator for a project to make vital health information accessible to rural women in developing countries in their mother tongue. I was fascinated with the concept of doing something for rural women through the internet. Given the limited education in their mother-tongue that rural women have, it is important to connect to them and empower them through their mother tongue only, and Audiopedia provides a great opportunity to support them effectively, using innovative technology like solar-powered MP3 players (with audio-books).
So the crucial point is – how can we take such initiatives to a much higher level & create a huge impact? I believe that today, finally we have the answer through technology and the internet. No developed country can improve unless its rural women folks are supported in crucial areas like health, family planning and nutrition. Thousands of educated urban youth can come forward to support organizations like Audiopedia, that has embarked on a noble mission to empower rural women, make them more aware of the health and well being of themselves and their families and making them more confident to build a better future.
I urge all educated students across the world to come forward and provide a few hours of volunteering efforts every month in whichever way they can, and it would make a huge impact in the lives of the less fortunate.
They shall also be greatly rewarded with the joy that comes from helping the under-privileged, seeing the smiles of the poor who will lead better lives, and the volunteers shall realize that their small contributions are making a difference towards making a better world tomorrow.
Do small things with great love and care.- All the best to you."
If you'd like to support our project like Abantika, please click here for more information.