Mangalore-based Ajay Gopi (19) has been selected for the Youth Ventures programme of the US-based Ashoka Innovators for the Public (formerly Ashoka Foundation). Ajay has designed a social entrepreneurship venture incorporating aquaponics technology, which will employ rural youth and benefit farming communities. As a member of Ashoka’s Youth Venture programme initiated last September, Ajay will receive project management and mentoring support, as also access to the worldwide Ashoka network.
“Aquaponics which eliminates all land/soil usage, is an affordable, accessible, and low-energy consuming practice in which plants and vegetables are grown with water recycled from fish breeding tanks. Aquaponics enable plants to grow twice as fast and utilise a mere 10 percent of the water required by soil-grown plants. I intend to grow lettuces while simultaneously breeding fish for sale in eateries/restaurants,” says this young innovator.
Christened Terra Neeru ( “Latin for earth, plus Kannada for water”), the project is in its pilot stage under the aegis of the Bangalore-based Project DEFY (Design Education For Yourself) — a social entrepreneurship programme founded by computer engineer Abhijit Sinha in 2014 — in the newly launched Bajpe (Mangalore) rural ‘makerspace’ in which Ajay is currently employed as a manager. The makerspace is a ‘school’ without teachers, offering rural youth infrastructure and mentoring support including laptops with internet connectivity.
The elder child of self-taught freelance electrician Gopi, based in Bengaluru, Ajay completed a two-year certificate course from ITI (Industrial Training Institute), Bengaluru. “From my father I developed an interest in hands-on problem solving. So I decided to join Project DEFY’s flagship makerspace on the outskirts of Bengaluru, where rural children and youth are encouraged to access online information from do-it-yourself websites like instructible.com. It’s here I met my Terra Neeru team members,” says Ajay.
Currently, he is assisting Project DEFY to popularise its newly launched rural makerspace at Bajpe. “My focus will be on educating rural youth about the basics of aquaponics, water recycling and other modern farm practices,” says Ajay.
Wind beneath your wings!
Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)
Rakshit Malik
Despite being born with only 10 percent vision, Delhi-based Rakshit Malik (18) was ranked #3 nationally (in the physically challenged category) in the class XII school-leaving examination of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) which has 17,000 affiliated schools countrywide. CBSE’s pan-India results were declared on May 21. This humanities student of Amity International School, Noida, top scored in the specified category with a 96.4 percent average and a centum in history. 
To view this achievement in its proper perspective, Rakshit suffers from macular degeneration, a genetic disorder with no known cure, which prevents him from reading textbooks with normal size print fonts, or from writing speedily. Therefore to enable him to read, school texts and notes are required to be specially printed in enlarged fonts on A3 size sheets of paper.
The younger child of Rakesh Malik, a businessman, and homemaker Rachna, Rakshit attributes his topper status in the CBSE exam to unreserved and sustained home and school support. “Especially during the study leave period, my mother Rachna spent many hours holding study material close up and reading out the matter for second revision. Most days, we outsourced meals as my mother was forced to skip household chores. That was nurturance and support beyond the call of duty. I am also grateful to my history teacher Monila Sircar who provided special remedial learning,” he recalls.
This determined achiever, who de-stresses by penning poetry and debating, has applied for admission into Delhi University’s reputed colleges for a bachelor’s degree in history. “My dream is to create better opportunities and conditions for India’s 70 million people with disabilities who, given the breaks, can become contributing and tax-paying citizens. Therefore, I intend to pursue a career in the civil services. I am aware this will mean writing more examinations. But I am ready and willing to meet these challenges,” says this indomitable youngster.
Way to go, Bro!
Autar Nehru (Delhi)