Later she got an opportunity to participate in Jagruthi Yatra, where she travelled around 8,000 km for 15 days across the country.

Hyderabad :

A Hyderabadi girl who has worked for empowering villagers into sustainable communities is all set to make her way to the United Nations Youth Assembly 2019 in New York University, New York City this month. Harshitha Chintam is a B.Tech graduate from Sree Nidhi Institute of Science and Technology, who later pursued MBA from Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) and joined ITC as a Business excellence officer.

“I received a sapling as a token of appreciation from UNICEF during my school days for my charity work. That gave me the motivation to work for the betterment of the people” reminisces Harshitha. With the opportunity to work with SAFA, an organisation that works for the empowerment of women from urban slums, she realised the potential and the zeal residing within her. Harshitha worked in building up the brand image and attract more supporters for the cause.

Later she got an opportunity to participate in Jagruthi Yatra, where she travelled around 8,000 km for 15 days across the country. We reached out to rural areas across the country, from Kanyakumari, Dharmashala, Uttar Pradesh and other parts of North India, it was a great learning experience”, reflects upon her 15-day journey across the country, where she got an opportunity to interact with the President of India Ram Nath Kovind.

This journey sparked off her interest in the concept of sustainable cities and self-sufficiency and she worked with ‘Barefoot College’ in Tilonia district of Rajasthan, an NGO that empowers the rural residents. She worked in documented and published the teaching and training manuals of these model villages in making them self-sufficient and sustainable, which can be implemented anywhere in the world. Upon a friend’s suggestion, she applied for the United Nations Youth Assembly.

After thorough verification of the documentation and her works, followed by a few rounds of interviews, she got selected as the India representative for the UN Youth Assembly 2019, which is to be held from February 15-17. She will be talking about Sustainable development goals – ‘Sustainable cities and communities’.

“I want the voice to be heard and showcase the reality of the state of India, also learn from other leaders across the world, I look forward to more people to joining hands and work for the common good of the society,” says Harshitha. She is also an associate with Make A Wish Foundation.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Venu Srikanth, Express News Service / February 05th, 2019