Level up was launched in 2022 by my sister and I, in association with Sewa Bharti, an NGO working with the economically weaker sections of society. The aim of this initiative was to promote sports among underprivileged children.
Coming from a family of sports enthusiasts, I grew up valuing the role of sports in life. Playing sports not only helps with physical fitness, but also helps in developing valuable life skills like discipline and teamwork, along with channelising energy in the right direction.
These, along with the intent to identify and develop sports talent through providing the right opportunities, led to the birth of Level Up.
Level up has been running successfully since 2022, in Sewa Bharti’s Vijay Camp at Malviya Nagar, New Delhi. Over 30 children in the age group of 6-12, train and play regularly. I visit the camp weekly, keeping an eye on the progress as well as interact closely with the children.
While initially designed for younger children, there was a group of older boys interested in the sports activities being conducted. This led to the program being extended to include older children, as well as the formation of a cricket team for ages 14-16. Under my captaincy and training, these buddying cricketers hope to soon challenge my school cricket team for a match!!
This program is my way of building a more inclusive world by extending opportunities for overall development.
" It is always exciting to be invited to elaborate on the advantages of sports both for physical and mental
development. It was even more exciting to see the hands go up when I asked how many of them wanted
to join our sports initiative “Level Up”. "
A coincidental interaction with the parking assistant who works in the local market led to the birth of the project “Ujjwal”. As the parking assistant proudly updated my mother that his daughter had cleared the medical entrance exam but he did not have the money to pay her fees, I began thinking about what could be done to help her and others like her to realise their dreams.
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Through crowd funding, I raised the amount that was due for her fee for the first year. This inspired me to launch project “Ujjwal” to identify and help deserving students who struggled to fund their education. While the initial intent was to help educate the girl child, the same has been extended to the transgender community as well.
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Since 2023, the project has funded the registration fee for 5 transgender individuals for an undergraduate course in addition to paying the fees for the medical student whose story initially kickstarted the initiative.
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Recently, when a family lost their sole breadwinner – and needed support for the education of their two daughters, we managed to successfully raise the money required for their fees as well.
The project has so far raised over INR 175,000 and continues to work to identify the needy and support their education.