Social entrepreneur and founder of NGO ‘Goonj’ Anshu Gupta interacted with students of Delhi government schools as part of their Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) on Thursday. Deputy CM and Education Minister Manish Sisodia also joined the online session where Mr. Gupta shared his journey from starting his NGO in 1999 to winning the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award.
Mr. Gupta said that his childhood was shaped by living in different remote areas due to his father’s postings. He said that he had studied in seven different government schools in places like Banwasa (Haryana), Chakrata (Uttarakhand), and other remote areas that taught him how to adapt and adjust according to his surroundings.
“I had a beautiful middle-class life where my parents focused on good education. I want to tell the students that government schools have played a huge role in what I am today. They are the backbone of this country where the majority of Indians study,” he told the students.
He added that the seeds were sown to start Goonj when he realised he wanted to actively bring a change in the society and encouraged students to take failures in their stride.
Mr. Sisodia asked students to take inspiration from Mr. Gupta’s passion to change the world and help lakhs of people in the country. It is a one-of-its-kind success story, he said. “We designed the curriculum keeping this in mind, to connect our students with entrepreneurs who can guide them by sharing their stories, and develop the mindset one needs to become one,” Mr. Sisodia said.
