Empower the Youth this National Youth Day

“A few heart-whole, sincere, and energetic men and women can do more in a year than a mob in a century.”-          

                                                                                                                                                                            -  Swami Vivekananda

These words may be more than 100 years old, but are still powerful enough to evoke anyone’s thoughts.  The great thinker–philosopher Swami Vivekananda always believed in youth and tried to inspire them through his powerful writings and lectures, that is why he is considered as Youth Icon of India and his birthday 12 January is observed as National Youth Day in India every year.

A special day for the youth is especially important in a country like India where about 65 percent of the population is under age 35.

Additionally, future of a country primarily lies in the young generation.  So, in order to improve our country’s growth, we should primarily focus on our youth and try to inculcate ethics and social responsibility in them from a very young age. This is especially important because moral values are one of the most important factors which help build a strong generation and ethical responsibility is an essential quality which helps the youth differentiate between what is wrong and right.

Well, like ethics, social responsibility is equally important.

What is social responsibility?

There is no doubt, it is the readiness to act for the benefit of the society and only a socially responsible person will think about the nation and its well-being. A socially responsible youth can help fight terrorism, reduce crimes and solve issues like child hunger, poverty and illiteracy. Most importantly, a socially responsible youth can speed up the development of a country.

Indian Government has always given importance to the youth and youth development was the main aim behind establishment of the National Skill Development Corporation in 2008. Make in India (2014) and Skill India scheme (July 15, 2015) are some of the other Youth development programmes in India. These initiatives are particularly important as India is all set to become the youngest country in the world. It is estimated that by 2020, more than 500 million Indians will be below 25 years.

So, when the nation is celebrating the 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, it is our duty to transform Vivekananda’s teachings into a reality.

Vivekananda’s teachings on life and the basic qualities required to make it meaningful like self-confidence, self-respect, dedication selflessness and teamwork are so strong that they continue to inspire the young generation of India even today.

This National Youth Day, help empower the country’s young generation!

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The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an NGO in India providing food for government and government aided school children through mid-day meal programme across 10 states. The organization is currently feeding 1.4 million children every day.