ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT RACHAITA SAO, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Christ (Deemed To Be University) Yeshwanthpur Campus | Bengaluru, India | Advancing SDG 4, SDG 5, SDG 10 & UNAI 3
" I am excited to be a Millennium Fellow because it gives me the opportunity to turn empathy into action to learn from diverse change makers, collaborate on meaningful solutions, and create lasting change for communities that are often unseen but deserve to be heard, valued, and empowered. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Healthier Workers, Safer Tomorrow
In the heart of every city, tall buildings and large infrastructure stand as a symbol of progress. Yet behind this growth are millions of invisible hands, construction workers who work day and night in hazardous conditions often without access to basic healthcare or support. India, home to over 1.4 billion people has one of the largest construction workforces and forms the backbone of our country. Many suffer in silence often ignoring illness, injury or exhaustion because seeking medical help in today's world means losing a daily wage. This project focused on supporting the physical and emotional well being of migrant construction workers and their children living in challenging site conditions. Through interactive sessions, on site engagement and a hygiene donation drive we delivered practical education on hygiene practices, gender respect and personal boundaries, emotional awareness as well as stress management. The project also involved coordinating with an NGO Sampark who connected us to the community we served. A hygiene collection drive was initiated and is ongoing with plans to expand distribution as resources increase. During early planning we noticed the following challenges:
1. Migrant workers ensure long hours, low wages and stress with little access to healthcare. 2. Families live in temporary shelters with poor sanitation and inadequate water supply
3. Both adults and children have minimal exposure to hygiene or emotional education 4. Many of the workers and unaware of the health care benefits they have The objectives of this project was to teach practical hygiene habits to workers and children, introduce basic gender respect and shared household responsibility. We wanted to build emotional vocabulary and coping strategies for children and provide stress awareness tool for the workers. We plan to establish a continuing model for community engagement beyond the Fellowship period.
About the Millennium Fellow
Rachaita Sao is an understanding, intuitive, and outgoing psychology student at CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Yeshwanthpur Campus. As the Student Campus Coordinator of the SDG Cell, she uses her platform to champion equality, unity, and dignity for all. She is a natural connector who thrives on building bridges across cultural, social, and economic divides, creating spaces where every individual feels seen, heard, and valued. Her leadership style blends empathy with action. She listens deeply, understands diverse perspectives, and transforms conversations into tangible outcomes that uplift communities. Resourceful and resilient, she approaches challenges with creativity and an unwavering belief that dignity, equality, and opportunity are basic human rights. Growing up across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and India has shaped her into a global citizen who understands both the beauty and the challenges of diversity. These experiences have cultivated in her a profound sensitivity toward those who are often overlooked, inspiring her to stand alongside marginalised groups and work toward sustainable, people-centred solutions. Whether mobilising communities, advocating for equity, or fostering unity in diversity, Rachaita is driven by the conviction that change is most powerful when it is inclusive, compassionate, and rooted in lived experience.
