How Gen Z Changemaker Shivanshi Sharma Turned Her School’s Project Work Into A Community Project With Greater Impact
If you run into Shivanshi Sharma, a young 16-year-old student in grade 12 at Amity International School, Mayur Vihar, you’re likely to part with a question lingering in your mind – “Shall I sign up to be an organ donor?” It might be perplexing further that it’s a result of a conversation with a teenager yet someone who seems to know exactly what she’s talking about.
Shivanshi’s foray into a Gen Z changemaker focussing on Organ Donation came to be as a result of her school’s initiative to engage in youth power. What started as a school project meant for students to explore their interests and work on meaningful actions for causes they care about turned into more than just that. Organ donation is now a cause that she’s pursuing passionately under the name ‘Akshya Daan’ to bring more awareness to and create a significant change. This also shows how schools can be a great influence for initiating children into changemaking and simplifying it for them with the right guidance.
Shivanshi shares that she choose organ donation to be her pet project as the biology student in her was always fascinated by the process of transplantation. The curious learner wanted to know more as she kept reading newspaper reports about multiple people’s lives being saved by one person’s organs. She supported her preliminary interest by doing her own research. And soon she realized that creating awareness around this topic could be game-changing as the interest around it was low. ‘This wasn’t like a political issue where you could have multiple viewpoints. It’s either you want to be a donor or you don’t. And so, I knew that making people understand the benefits of organ donation was all that mattered to initiate change,” adds the young founder who had earlier dabbled in initiatives to achieve the SDG goal of zero hunger and spread awareness of the LGBTQIA+ community. However, Akshya Daan is her full-fledged attempt at changemaking — one that’s entirely hers and makes her beam with pride.
The young changemaker has always been interested in bringing awareness to social causes, engaging in conversations about them and broadening her views. It also helps that debates are a huge part of her life — not that she debates anyone who isn’t interested in signing up as a donor. Nonetheless, her debating skills have empowered her with the skills needed to get across her points on organ donation in a firm, convincing and simplified manner.
Shivanshi acknowledges that the journey hasn’t been easy especially when she has to speak to people with strong religious beliefs that deter them from being donors. Misconception about the process is also a challenge — she has to educate people that eyes aren’t gouged in an eye transplant or that skin transplant doesn’t leave major scars. She also has to reach out to folks who aren’t up for a discussion as the topic is too scientific and less appealing in the gamut of social change. Her thorough research and her communication skills are how she navigates those challenges. She sources reliable content that makes it easier for sceptics to change their minds. Social media is another boon for disseminating awareness in a world where information has to be handy and easy to consume. She also reached out to NOTTO (National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization) to get the 3-page long donor sign-up form curtailed to one page to ease the sign-up procedure. Her approach of leaving no stone unturned seems to help her immensely.
But her biggest challenge has been winning over people who want to suspect her work only because she is much younger than them – Gen Z. ”I think the best way to battle that is to continue being passionate about the work I’m doing. Because people can then see for themselves that I know what I’m talking about that. It helps change their perception of me and organ donation,” reassures the thoughtful teenager.
The support from her fellow students gives Shivanshi the hope that Gen Z can turn organ donation into a cause embraced readily and more importantly, less intimidating to explore. Volunteers she works with are already .helping her demystify the process of organ donation. Shivanshi recounts the immense support she received and continues to receive from her teacher, Ms. Sonali Jain. Her family has also been a huge pillar of strength on days when she feels weighed down by the lack of sign-ups. Considering that more than 200,000 Indians require organ transplants every year, the youngster reveals that what keeps her going is knowing that even one sign-up can make a huge difference in many lives. That’s the confidence with which she and her volunteers reach out to teachers, parents of fellow students, relatives, people in the neighbourhood and also people like medical professionals who need less convincing and more reminders.
From creating awareness of the dire need for organ donation and its benefits, quelling misconceptions, uncomplicating the subject knowledge, and staying aware of emerging trends in organ donation to nudging people to take that step as a donor, Shivanshi has shown that, with passion, even small-time projects can turn into meaningful community projects. She is currently working on reaching out to future donors in Gen Z and seeking their support in fuelling this into a crucial movement like many other social causes.
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