Harsh Ahuja, Gurugram Teenager’s Crusade Against Child Labour Is Inspiring

He started his journey with a fundraising campaign with Aadhyayan Foundation, which raised Rs 29,000 individually and Rs 2,20,000 cumulative with his classmates. This for improving teaching/evaluation methods for a government school in Goa.

Societal issues were introduced to Harsh Ahuja as a part of school studies in the middle school years which inspired him to delve deeper into social issues. It was in Grade 9 when he first became aware of the menace of child labour. He saw it on roadside eateries, traffic signals, television and then heard the elders in his family talking about it in detail. His curiosity got the better of him and he started doing his own research. Slowly, as he was exposed to the dismal statistics he learnt, children were forced into a life of penury due to several reasons. By the time he was halfway through his research Harsh was moved enough to raise his voice in the form of his initiative, called “All Children Must Shine”.

Today, Harsh is a Grade XI-IBDP student at Heritage International Xperiential School in Gurugram, Haryana, and he spends a considerable amount of his time creating awareness regarding the evil effects of child labour. Apart from his intent to create more and more awareness regarding the issue, Harsh is also busy working on a global case study in this direction. Once his study is complete, Harsh plans to submit it to various global NGOs that are working for child rights, human rights and human trafficking. Besides, the young researcher also intends to file RTI applications to gain a deeper understanding of this matter, which, he says, would help him create a roadmap that could help policymakers & stakeholders to make positive decisions for the young population.
But that isn’t all that Harsh is doing. Having lived in Hong Kong for most of his formative years, before moving back to India, he has realized that children’s rights need to be portrayed at multiple platforms for the status quo to change.

Today Harsh volunteers for a Gurugram-based NGO “We Care”. There he started with teaching children belonging to underprivileged families. Joining these frail yet eager kids studying in open spaces in near freezing temperatures, with no protection against the elements of nature, Harsh got inspired to launch a fundraiser, which was launched on the platform Ketto. After an aggressive appeal, which Harsh recorded as a video and widely shared on multiple platforms, the fundraiser was able to collect Rs 50,000. The money is now used in building a classroom shelter for these children to study under.
Harsh is working on multiple levels to bring awareness and money to mitigate the problems facing children who are forced to do menial jobs in order to provide for their families. He is also working on a documentary, which talks in detail about this menace and the statistics associated with it. The documentary aims to showcase how our society is responsible for the bleak living conditions of these children and what we can, as a society, do to protect the future of these kids.
Harsh is currently working on building a website, which will carry a record of all his work and provide avenues for like-minded youngsters to come forward and associate with the cause. His mentor, Yashi Shukla, who is a student counsellor and mentor to youngsters seeking admission to reputed educational institutions globally, vouches for his efforts and lauds the zeal Harsh works with, in the public sphere.

However, he is paying equal attention to his academics. Besides school subjects his SAT score was 1540 {top 1% globally (99^th Percentile)} in his first attempt. Harsh actively pursues his other passions – playing the Clarinet and representing his school team in sports.
Most teenagers today may be busy playing video games and planning trips to shopping malls & fast-food joints, Harsh Ahuja is a prime example of living for others. His balanced approach to life would not just give the world a thinking individual but also a balanced professional, who realises his duty towards his country & those children who may not be as lucky.

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