While speaking to the children of my domestic help and asking them about their dream jobs or goals, I noticed that they are unable to find their field of interest due to the lack of access to learning opportunities. There is a dearth of a network that can serve as a point of contact for underprivileged students in India in connecting them to the right opportunities. Say, something like, but more accessible, than Linkedin. In this digital age of Jio and free data, much of rural India is also online and on platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp. I want to leverage this and create a platform that can connect vocational employers and trainers, job employers and related NGOs to rural students of working age and facilitate points of contact through Whatsapp and Facebook.

The working model is simple to make sure it is accessible and effective. I want to add employers and facilitators to Whatsapp groups created for different categories of jobs and fields and add students who are interested in the field. Then, we add students to groups they are interested in keeping up with. Employers can regularly post about job availability, NGOs can post about new programs or resources that may be available for the students' use and I will update the group with information that might be pertinent to the students and the field to keep up the pace. Hopefully, this can generate excitement among the students and make it easier for them to reach out to the right employers.

At Ashoka University, I am part of Neev, The Community Engagement Club that works with many children from the neighbouring village of Asawarpur, Haryana to teach them K-12 courses and offer basic career counselling. Project "Aarohana" (translated to progression or climbing) will be a good fit as the next step to engaging with the Asawarpur community effectively and pushing the students to new heights. I hope to start this project in August along with help from the fellowships' modules and Neev's resources. Aarohana, due to its online nature, can be scaled up to more than Asawarpur and to several parts of rural India that can use the platforms and gain access to its resources as it grows. Ultimately, the goal is to help the students climb toward their goals.