Dreams are meant to be lived. However, it gets tough to attain those goals if one does not work on achieving them. Ashweetha Shetty grew up in Tirunelvi, Tamil Nadu watching her parents roll beedis which was not the future that she wanted for herself.

Ashweetha’s eyes always gleamed with a desire to do something exceptional. The road ahead was definitely rocky for her as it wasn’t easy for a village girl to imagine a life like that.  

Her determination got stronger after reading the autobiography of Helen Keller. She was just 13 then and with an urge to stand out, she kept focusing on her goal. And then a day came when Ashweetha convinced her parents to enroll her into a college. But, that wasn’t enough to fulfill her dreams because she wanted to head out of her village and attain something much bigger.

A turning point in Ashweetha’s life came when she got through a fellowship program with 100% scholarship in Delhi. It changed everything for her. And today she runs an NGO called Bodhi Tree Foundation through which she and her entire team are empowering the rural youth.

The NGO has a two-part theory of providing assistance, a short-term and a long-term theory. In the first part, they interact with the rural graduates via career counselling, college and residential programs to outline a career plan for them. The NGO also guides them in basic communication skills and teaches them how to use technological tools.

In the second part, they make the rural youth much stronger and able to cope with the challenges. With the help of village engagement initiatives and mentorship programs, they make the rural youth as capable as the urban youth.

It takes a lot to surpass every hurdle. Life’s curveballs are frightening but, you can only attain success if you consider them as challenges. Ashweetha’s spirit tells us why it is essential to keep going in life because giving up can never be the solution.

Image Courtesy: Bodhi Tree Foundation