DCM Presidency School Wins Desh Apnayen’s ‘My Country, My Pride’ Contest

Mumbai,13th August:On the occasion of India’s 74^th Independence Day, Desh Apnayen Sahayog Foundation, which has been providing opportunities and resources to over 900 schools to help create ACTIZENS (alert, informed and active citizens), organised the Grand Finale of ‘My Country, My Pride’, an inter-school contest.

The winners of the contest were students from DCM Presidency School, Ludhiana - Navgun Singh, Ziya Oberoi, NeelabhKarnwal and Kanishka Sharma.After presenting a SWOT analysis of India's education and healthcare system, students highlighted the need for capacity-building programmes, digitalisation and decentralisation. They also spoke about the role of paramedical doctors and pharmaceutical companies. They said, "We dream of an India where healthcare is accessible for all and there is universal insurance coverage. On our part, we believe we can also do our bit by donating blood and food to those in need and promoting health literacy. We have ideated on an e-Swastha Bharat app to facilitate some of our ideas."  

The first runners-up were Taha Lokhandwala, SamruddhiShelke, Ebrahim Sapatwala and Hatim Kapasi from Diamond Jubilee High School, Mumbai.

The second runner-up prize was awarded to Soumili Mukherjee, Aritri Banerjee, Ritoja Bhattacharya and Soma Chatterjee from East West Model School, Burdwan, West Bengal.

Commenting on this, Mr.Vallabh Bhanshali, Founder and Chief Mentor of Desh Apnayen (and the Enam Group), said, “When my associates and I started Desh Apnayen over five years ago, we aimed to proactively help create Democracy 2.0 - one in which citizens exert a sense of ownership continuously, with the goal of making India a great country, in every way, for every citizen. We are very happy to see young students coming forward with so many ideas and aspirations for their country and well-researched analysis between India and other countries. Our Chief Guest, Padma Shri Mr. Mohandas Pai, who addressed thousands of students and teachers at the online event, was also very appreciative of the event design and the finalists’ ideas and presentation.”

Sharing his experience, Mr. Mohandas Pai commented, “These students are compassionate and eager to learn. The contest was an enriching experience not only for them but also for me. It was very refreshing to hear their ideas about how they will go around bringing a change in the country. I was impressed by their dreams for India. The ACTIZEN initiative by Desh Apnayen is definitely an outstanding and a necessary initiative to inculcate values of love and patriotism towards the country in these bright children."The event waslivestreamed on Desh Apnayen’s YouTube channel and an email contest was also announced.

Schools that
would like to take part in Desh Apnayen’sregular programmes can write to info@deshapnayen.org or 8898890202.

About Desh Apnayen –

Desh Apnayen aims to build an accountable citizenry and society around three themes: Citizenship Education, Volunteerism and Neighbourhood Engagement.

Its school programme, the Desh Apnayen ACTIZEN Club, gives students a chance to hone leadership skills, work on community service initiatives and participate in new activities every week. Teachers also get access to engaging ACTIZEN Education content at no cost to them.