A true leader and visionary, Mr. Kumar Sanu has made an invaluable difference to UPAY and its cause. His dedication and commitment to creating positive change is truly inspiring and admirable.
Born and raised in Lucknow, Kumar Sanu Singh is currently pursuing his MBA from IMT Ghaziabad. After finishing his summer internship in May 2022, Kumar got in touch with his friend, who gave him an insight into UPAY, which piqued his interest and he decided to join UPAY. He had always been interested in working for a non-profit organization, and UPAY provided the perfect opportunity for him to do so. After completing a one month stint as a digital marketing intern at UPAY in June 2022, he decided to continue his work as a volunteer.
Then this is your chance to enhance your leadership skills and put something special on your resume to be proud of. Here at UPAY, we have come up with a short-term 3-week course created for Leaders of Tomorrow, which will cover areas like Finance Management, Operations Management, Outbound Training, Dramatics and so much more. Unlike other available courses, this course will not only cover the theoretical knowledge but will focus on the practical aspect as well. You will also get to learn about the workings of Non-Profit. This is an offline residential course and we have collaborated with two esteemed universities, NTPC School of Business, Noida, and Barefoot College, Jaipur. These institutions are known for Leadership training and Managerial modules.
Why this course is for you?
Training at elite institute & B-school
If you are looking for acareer in Management this is the best CV booster for you
Opportunity to interact with Industry experts and People with different backgrounds.
Opportunity to gain a strong professional base of Management skills & Outbound training.
Eligibility: Above 18 years
Fees: Couse is free
Duration: Starts from 26th May 2022 till 3 weeks
Location: There will be two locations. NTPC School of Business, Noida and Barefoot College, Jaipur
Selection procedure: The first round of selection will be CV screening and after that telephonic interview.
About UPAY: UPAY is a registered NGO working to overcome disparities in education so that every child gets an opportunity to Learn, Grow, and Succeed. UPAY empowers underprivileged communities through Education and Skill Development, intending to replace begging bowls with books.
This is a surprise blog post but one that was long overdue because she deserves it!!
Her journey with UPAY started in December 2015, when she was in the final year of her undergrad degree in Pharmacy. One day, while passing through the streets of Sitabuldi she came across one of our footpathshala classes. Her curiosity led her to find out more about the organization and her giving nature enrolled her as one of our volunteers. Today she is the Chief Administrative Officer (now Executive lead) of our organization.
In case you are still lost, here is a quote that will truly spark her name –
“The most truly generous persons are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward” – Carol Ryrie Brink
Yes, we are talking about the one and only, Deboshree Bhattacharya.
Her zeal to impart education was seen from day one. Despite the absence of volunteers in the first few days of her joining, she came to the center consistently, full of hope and vigor. She used the wall of a house in the basti as a makeshift blackboard to teach her children. She would also bring the black rolling charts, combine them together and teach her classes. Her mother, Ms. Subha Bhattacharya, also encouraged her in this endeavor. She helped Deboshree to create a syllabus for our children to ensure they would be at level with their school-going peers.
Deboshree takes a holistic outlook on education. Hence, she never just focused on the academic part of things. She ensured that her students were healthy and had the right environment to study in. She would often bathe the kids before starting her class to inculcate a habit of hygiene among them. It is a key issue among street children and her efforts were a starting point to overcome it.
She isn’t just a good teacher but a keen learner as well. She was made part of the zonal team in mere few months of her joining. However, she faced a dilemma of choosing between a role in finance and one in PR. She chose the former as she had some idea about the tasks involved. However, circumstances left her with the later role. She did not let her lack of knowledge be a reason for not giving her best in any work she did.
Deboshree learned from scratch, on her own, the skills needed to promote the organization. With support from her fellow volunteers, she changed how PR functioned in the organization. She changed the face of UPAY. She created the first banner of UPAY of PowerPoint. She curated an internet presence for the organization through various social media pages and the blog. She also streamlined various processes, smoothened volunteer and intern onboarding, made ID cards and visiting cards among other things. For pursuing her M.Pharm she had to shift to Mumbai where she was promoted as Director PR and also the member of steering committee of Pune. Despite her jam packed schedule she would travel whenever she would get a holiday to establish Pune zone and to expand the horizons of learning.
Her dedication to the cause, talents and willingness to learn and grow is held in high regard even by our President – Mr Varun Shrivastava. He recounted a story of when she was made in charge of following up on UPAY’s application for the 80 G certificate. She would often travel from Mumbai to Pune to follow up on the application. On one such journey, her bus met with an accident. She was injured as a result. It did not stop Deboshree from doing her work. Without uttering a word about it to anyone she continued on her path to the income tax office and got the certificate.
Crisis Manager is the term that he used to describe her. No matter what the work, Deboshree will get it done.
Even Interns and Volunteers like us would agree that if we are to ever approach her with our personal crisis, she would address them with the gentlest nature.
“A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders.”
Deboshree has not just increased the reach of UPAY but has also been a force of creating many more leaders from within the organization that we see today. We are sure that the interns and volunteers who have worked with her would vouch for it.
She has always empowered those around her. Deboshree has always encouraged new innovative ideas from members by providing them with support and resources to make it a reality. She understands her team members like no other. She knows our strengths and weaknesses and always provides us an opportunity to grow. It is seen in her efforts to arrange training programs and skill development opportunities for the team.
She knows every nook and corner of UPAY. Despite being stretched across multiple departments she is well aware of the littlest of the happenings in the organization.
If we have to sum up Deboshree’s journey in a line it would be
‘A journey from PowerPoint to Canva’.
She has an amazing command of the English language and can bowl anyone over with her communication skills. There has never been a dull moment with her being around. She is a role model for almost every volunteer who is associated with her. Patient, Sympathetic, and a connoisseur of perfection and details, she surely wins everyone’s heart.
To the shadow of our organization..we will forever be grateful!
Thank you Deboshree for always having our backs!
(Special thanks to Varun Shrivastav and Indrapal Neware)
Faraz ~ a literal meaning of which translates to one who can achieve great heights! The one who is a prominent example of achieving the greatest heights of success with his determination and dedication. The one who lives with a burning fuel to improve the lives of underprivileged kids. And the one who believes his actions and contribution will help such children for the longest of the time!
His roots are from Nanded in Maharashtra, where he completed his higher secondary education before moving to Pune for his higher studies in 2015. Back to his Graduation days, while he was pursuing BBA from BMCC college he came to know about an NGO that worked for the betterment of children in distress. This introduced Faraz to UPAY, thanks to his friend!
In the year 2017, he started engaging himself in NGO activities and it was the start of the burgeoning of UPAY’s Pune zone. He was a teaching volunteer and loved talking to the students and guiding them to a better life. His deep understanding of the value of education makes him stand out from the crowd and dedicate himself to the service of others.
Faraz’s exemplary commitment to the cause caught the eyes of the senior members at the NGO in the year 2019 and he got his share of appreciation in the form of a Volunteer’s Excellence award, as well as promotion as a Zonal Coordinator. His perspicacious nature, be it in teaching or operation or managing the zone to provide efficient and quality education could not go unnoticed.
A very kind-hearted Faraz is a wallflower when it comes to other events of life. He usually likes to pick his words carefully and speak them out only when it is necessary. But when it comes to the matters of NGO, he can be seen taking the center stage with the limelight on top! He bravely faces the difficulties on-field and comes up with innovative solutions.
His passion for teaching has its roots from his mother Mrs Shaheen Rupani who supports him throughout and is also a part of the UPAY family.
Over time, we saw him develop as a leader. He expressed himself more freely and put across deals nobody can deny. Currently, he is serving as the Zonal Director of Pune zone of UPAY and is also amongst the Board of Executive members.
He manages his duties along with his personal and academic commitments as currently, he is pursuing his MSc in economics from Symbiosis School of Economics. There are days that tire him off and then there are days he wants to accomplish his dreams so badly. But the only thing that is constant is his patience and resilience.
The Universe was beautiful, just as Faraz, and then COVID suddenly came into existence and spread wide. When everyone was processing the pandemic and adapting to it, he lead the way to help people in need in every way he could. Right from ensuring Ration is provided to poor families to helping people stay strong mentally.
During the time when the educational scenario changed, he identified the problem area of English as a language that became a barrier to the underprivileged kids, thus came to the brainchild Project Manzil which catered to spoken English and took almost 200 kids under its ambit. Students from underprivileged backgrounds from various parts of the country took part and are still going strong with their language skills.
His journey with UPAY for the last 5 years has been full of ups and downs. But when it comes to his fellow volunteers, he motivates them to become better people by serving society with an undying spirit!
Faraz, Grateful for all you are and for all you do.. We Thankyou!!
Individual social responsibility is an ethical framework that encapsulates the very essence of humanity — to be humane. It’s not just the ‘art of giving’ but also the ‘science of being’ in an exceedingly dependent relationship with our immediate surroundings, communities, society and the world at large. It’s about sustainability, perseverance with ethics, integrity and unwavering generosity. Today, individual social responsibility has all the makings of a high-impact changemaker.
Collectively taken, it deals with more responsible actions from people. Many of us consume green products, invest in socially accountable funds and devote our time to good causes. Incorporating acts of social responsibility into our daily lives can be challenging.
Hence, community organizations must be compelled to reinvent the opportunities they create for individuals to contribute. This can include micro-volunteering opportunities, which are short-term activities that are typically done on one’s own and presumably from home. Another example may be advocacy opportunities like signing a petition or raising awareness through social media.
One might ask why it is important to volunteer our time for a certain cause?
Giving back to society and enriching your community is a great way to broaden our perceptions and outlook. By serving those around us, we can help better their standards of living and also achieve a novel sense of purpose for ourselves.
In our country, the biggest domain that needs modification is education.
Our individual social responsibilities should guide us to tend to those who are left out of education. There are many NGOs that operate day and night to eradicate illiteracy and raise awareness.
UPAY, established in 2010 by Varun Srivastava, an IIT Kharagpur graduate, has been flawlessly operating in this field for the past twelve years. The inception of the organization was also out of the motive of giving back to society by the means of volunteering. What started with one small learning centre grew to over 40 just because people associated with the cause and volunteered.
At present, we have 370 volunteers functioning in 7 cities all over the country. Volunteering opportunities provided by UPAY allow us to initiate socially responsible actions as well as make a difference in the lives of countless children.
The volunteers of UPAY
Individual social responsibility is a way of life — the only way to build a sustainable change and facilitate the betterment of society. Besides being driven by real, intrinsic unselfishness, they help raise one’s self-worth. After all, our conduct defines the kind of person we are, not solely within the eyes of others but also in our own eyes.
UPAY - उपाय 
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