A Ripple for the Future

“I want to spread my experience and knowledge in sciences with others (especially girls) and make them realize just how much you can do with science, it’s not only boring data collection but going out in the world and discovering something new.”

• Aadi Raj Dewan, Grade 11, Step by Step School Noida

As he was nearing the completion of his schooling,the young ChangeMaker Aadi Dewan found himself constantly wondering what he wanted to pursue in college, and what path to follow in his future. It was when he got to study the science subject in-depth that he became interested and fell in love with chemistry. Had he not explored the subject, he would not have understood his interest in it. Aadi realized how many students have a strained relationship with science subjects. This knowledge motivated him to do something about it, which eventually resulted in Project Ripple. 

India’s literacy rate has increased dramatically over the past four decades. According to the report published by the National Survey of India, the literacy rate of India in 2022 is 77.7 percent. However the gap between the literacy rates for men and women remain grave. One big contributor is poverty: it makes it difficult for parents to send their children to school, since they can’t afford basic necessities like books, uniforms, etc. Therefore, children are instead sent to work rather than to school. As a result, a vicious cycle of poverty continues to repeat which then further leads to a poor educational system and eventually a lower literacy rate in India.

Through Project Ripple, Aadi targets the problem of lack of strong educational foundational skills present in India’s youth. He contributes to skilling young students with science classes and  21st century skills and reducing the education gap which is the key reason for the mass unemployment our country faces due to a lack of quality skill sets.

He partook in the Champions of Change program, a collaboration with the Inqui-lab foundationl, where he conducted workshops related to digital literacy and 21st century skills on topics such as creation of presentation, communication, problem solving, etc.

This is when Aadi decided to take his project into his community by using his scientific genius to help the school students. Since Aadi lives in a large society, there are a large number of househelp who either come to the society everyday or stay inside permanently, along with their family including children. He realized that he found an audience that could benefit from basic science education. As a class topper himself, Aadi decided to pass on his knowledge by conducting free Maths and Science classes for the children of the staff members and household helps in his community. He coordinated with the students through the society’s officials, and managed to find a space for them to attend the classes.  He taught the children (till class 8) free of any financial requirements; and the only thing they had to have were just a pen and a notebook. He was able to improve their educational base on science. 

In the road ahead, Project Ripple aims to provide classes to schools and make a class of people possibly interested in any three sciences. It will focus on developing their skills, and help them realize what they truly want to pursue in the science field through real-life classes, with sufficient primary research beforehand to understand their needs.

About Reimagining Global Challenges and Social Justice Program:

TribesforGOOD’s Reimagining Global Challenges and Social Justice program is an advanced social impact program for Changemakers eager to create their own niche in the impact space. Interested? Fill this form to sign up for the upcoming months!