#TGLIFE: Tell us how YUVA came into being.
Raghuvir Mahale: I was always inclined to do something innovative and different in life. After my BE in computer engineering I joined the Entrepreneurship Development Institute where I could interact with different people across Goa. This experience instilled in me a thought about the profound role of youth in our society and the immense output they can deliver if their energies could be channelized in right direction. So I gathered a few young minds and formed YUVA on December 27, 2012. Ours is a group of professionals and students. We do not work in only one sector, we choose the problem and try to develop solution and execute it as an activity.
What are some of the various activities undertaken by YUVA?
Since 2012, YUVA has been involved in various activities - free health camp with free medicines, free check-up camps for women, free football training camps for kids, tree plantations, sapling distribution, cleanliness and awareness drives for Swachh Bharat, AIDS awareness campaign, celebrating Yoga day, Mala monsoon run, cultural activities like installation of eco-friendly Ganesh idols, preservation of heritage, saving sources of fresh water, drawing competitions, pizza making workshop to raising funds for Canacona flood victims and much more
How do you go about conducting the activities ?
With 30-35 members, youth and likeminded elders, YUVA has vowed to take up at least one project per month, which helps in keeping them engaged. Activities need funds. Initially we began with just Rs 3000 collected from donation and membership fees. Slowly we started building contacts and raising funds from sponsors.
YUVA faced a challenge right on day one. How did you take it up?
It happened on our inauguration day, on January, 19, 2013 when we had organised a free medical camp. We had put up a big banner of the inauguration and free camp outside the venue in Mala. The night before the inauguration, the banner was torn and thrown aside. Yet on the next day our members without losing hope worked hard to conduct the camp.
Your eco-friendly Ganesh idols have attracted a lot of attention. Tell us more about these.
In 2016 we constructed Ganesh idol with 30,000 match sticks. It was a skilful yet tedious task yet all of us worked hard to stick each match stick carefully. Last year we made a 15 feet Ganesh idol with paper quillings and all our members used to sit down making 800-1000 quills every day.
