‘I am a good communicator which means I am good at rapport building too. This has always helped me interact with community people at ease. Such interactions eventually guide us into designing sustainable solutions for their problems’
Disha Ranjana was the sole candidate from Orissa to be selected in the Youth Citizen Service (YCS) Leadership Challenge, 2015. The 11 other participants were from other parts of the country. An alumnus of esteemed National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela, Disha has completed her Master’s with specialisation in Development Studies in 2015. The 23-year-old Bhubaneswar girl, who is keen to learn new things all the time, believes that through the YCS training programme she will be able to learn new things outside her comfort zone and also discover her inner strength.
“While in college I had the opportunity to interact with community people in the tribal belts of Orissa. It was a great experience. Now I am excited and looking forward to work for and with people from other states. I am confident that this training will help me foster innovation and empowerment in the lives of the downtrodden. This opportunity shall definitely hone my communication as well as networking skills and my confidence in dealing with social situations,” says Disha.
Youth Citizen Service is an action learning programme which provides an opportunity to youth to understand and actively work towards addressing development issues. During the six-week training programme, each group of volunteers stayed with a host family in the community with limited resources in various remote villages in Jhansi and Orchha districts where the young participants were assigned responsibilities in different fields including enhancing the marketability of self help groups, creating awareness on menstrual hygiene and developing a dairy cooperative.
An active member of the social group Bakul Foundation, Disha did her Bachelor’s in Sociology from BJB Autonomous College before entering NIT. While pursuing studies, Disha worked for trafficked women and their rehabilitation, which earned her state-wide recognition as a social worker. She has also come out with a research paper on victims of trafficking.
An avid reader and culinary expert, Disha loves to interact with people and believes it helps her to build a rapport with people. “I am a good communicator which means I am good at rapport building too. This has always helped me interact with community people at ease. Such interactions eventually guide us into designing sustainable solutions for their problems. My sense of accountability towards my fellow citizens and the values that I have inculcated during my growing years, combined, is the driving force. It fills me with joy when at the end of the day I manage to touch at least one life by making a lasting difference in it,” she says.
Under the programme Disha is scheduled to spend six weeks in Dhikauli village of Jhansi District where she will work towards developing an understanding of menstrual hygiene among girls and women and spreading awareness of hygienic practices. “According to me volunteering will help me develop skills like decision-making, problem-solving, leadership skills, teamwork and networking as well as motivating others and achieving results,” says Disha.
Disha likes to do household chores like cooking, dusting, painting and stitching. “My parents have always motivated me. Sometimes I think that I can’t be as good as them because they have been in this sector for more than 30 years and the kind of work they have done are commendable as things were really difficult at that time. But today things are getting easier as in my case I happened to come into contact with a lot of people acquainted with my parents.
“My role model will always be my mom and dad in their own ways; they are amazing people not because they are my parents but as individuals, and the things they have achieved and their morals and ideology are always inspiring,” quips Disha.
Disha has served as student placement coordinator for the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Training and Placement Cell of the National Institute of Technology in Rourkela. She has volunteered for Bakul Foundation since 2013 and also a volunteer at AASRA Club at NIT, Rourkela.
PNN