From a school dropout owning an IT company to curating CSR programmes on sustainability – the top Social Stories of the week

A school dropout, Sheikh Asif from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir is now the owner of a UK-based IT company. Meanwhile, Akarsh Shroff from Bengaluru is working towards empowering and educating the underserved children in India through his NGO SPARK, which was conferred the Diana Award in 2021.

An online platform called DogWithBlog raises awareness on the plight of stray dogs and takes a community-driven approach to conduct free dog adoptions.

Another blog called ‘Ashwidea’ by Ashwin Subramanian, documented how he and his wife practised sustainability. But now, it is now working on the ground with corporates across the country, in areas such as education, health, water, and environmental livelihoods.

Here are the top Social Stories of the week:

This school dropout from Kashmir now owns an IT Company in the UK

Hailing from the Batamaloo area of Srinagar city in Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Asif, after dropping out of school in 2008, worked with a local IT company in Kashmir for around six years.

“Due to financial constraints, I have only studied till 8th standard. However, in 2016, I got a chance to visit the United Kingdom where I met a Google employee who assisted me to set up a web design company Thames Infotech,” said 27-year-old Sheikh with a smile.

He added, “Today, I am an entrepreneur, CEO and Founder of the same UK-based company.” Despite being a good student, Sheikh has to work in different shops to satisfy his daily requirements.

Read on about Sheikh’s inspiring journey.

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This online community of volunteers has helped 900+ street dogs find their forever homes

DogWithBlog is an online platform that raises awareness of the plight of stray dogs and takes a community-driven approach to conduct free dog adoptions. They use the power of the internet to circulate appeals for strays looking for homes and widen their reach. 

They not only help rehabilitate abandoned dogs but also use newsletters, social media channels and the blog to share pet care tips, dog adoption guides, etc to make prospective pet parents aware of what they are getting into. 

Abhishek Joshi and his sister, Abhilasha, who have been animal lovers since childhood, were exposed to books and movies that promoted compassion towards dogs and helped them see rescued dogs and adoptions in a better light. They started DogWithBlog with the purpose of expanding its reach beyond its locality. 

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How this student-run NGO raised over Rs 40 lakh to help children, underprivileged during the pandemic

Seeing his parents run a non-profit in the healthcare sector, BITS Pilani student Akarsh Shroff understood the value a volunteer can provide to a less privileged community and wanted to share the same with his classmates.

In 2018, he founded SPARK — a social welfare platform — that aims to bring youngsters together to create a brighter future for the underprivileged.

At present, the NGO operates in 11 locations in Karnataka and works with orphans and the underprivileged.

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I am struggling to repay a loan I took to save my son's life

My name is Bhanupriya. I am 25 years old and I live in Chirala in Andhra Pradesh. I live in a rented house but am struggling to make ends meet ever since the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, I used to make ends meet as a sex worker.

But now, I am facing immense financial difficulties due to the lockdown and consequent restrictions by the government during the second wave. The restriction and the preventive measures and protocols enforced by the state, including restrictions on people's mobility, meant that there have been no customers, which has significantly impacted our income. 

Read on about Bhanupriya’s heart-breaking story.

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How Ashwidea is curating solutions for corporates seeking to invest in CSR initiatives

In 2013, Ashwin Subramanian’s wife Preethy Iyer gifted him a blog for his birthday. The idea was for him to document how they practised sustainability, a subject Ashwin feels very strongly about, in their daily lives. The blog, Ashwidea, was a portmanteau of his name Ashwin+Idea. 

Today, nearly a decade later, Bengaluru-based Ashwidea has evolved into a much larger company that consults across a broad spectrum, including offering corporates advice on how to run their CSR programmes, fund-raising for nonprofits, and working on the ground with them across the country in areas such as education, health, water, and environmental livelihoods.