Simran Kaur Dhillon

The SDG that best resonates with the work I have done in my community is SDG 4: Quality education. Educational institutions are built on a middle-class ideology and can disregard the special needs of those who are marginalized, underprivileged, and lack the necessary support to fulfill their potential. At the FLY Youth Engagement Initiative, our main focus is to keep the children on track with the standard academic requirements in a system that often ignores them. In this program, I have met hundreds of “diamonds in the rough”–children with brilliant potential that have not been supported or encouraged. FLY is more than an educational program; we work to advocate for the needs of these students and to mold a positive mindset.

I want to see a reduction in our society’s poverty rates and economic disparity. I would like to see society’s outlook change from “I” to “We.” When those who are impoverished climb up the financial ladder, we succeed; when children from disadvantaged living situations attain academic success, we succeed; when those struggling with their health receive proper medical, physical, and mental support, we succeed.

• Find what drives you to make a change and look for opportunities that work toward achieving that goal. Reach out to clubs in your school and to community programs including food banks, women’s shelters, and distress lines.
• Create your own initiative! Find what needs to be changed and find people who support this change, such as mentors and sponsors, and work together to create that positive impact. Power lies within a team, and together, any goal can be accomplished.