In Aaditya’s words, “I am writing to you about the service project I have been working on. I have always been passionate about nature and animal conservation. Recently, I was selected for the Take the World Forward Fellowship where a small number of teens came together from around the world to explore how we could make a positive social impact and had to pitch an idea for social change. Through my reading, I had learned about how animal extinction is an issue even in cities. Mumbai alone is home to 40 species of endangered birds and urban areas are behind 46% of endangered species, through habitat degradation, air pollution, plastic pollution etc.
I wanted to do something about this problem. I pitched my idea and got micro-grant funding from MIT Solv[ED] to do research into this area and I used that to learn more about the issue and how we could make a difference. This included a large base (151 respondents) quantitative survey in Mumbai to better understand current levels of awareness of the issue and what would motivate people to get involved. I found that almost all respondents (99%) thought animal endangerment was an issue in the wild or nature reserves, not in cities. Also, most people didn’t know how to get involved in such a cause beyond donating to NGOs (88%). Through my secondary research, I found that there are many ways in which common people can get involved- turning off the lights, for example, saves a dozen birds per year per home and adopting one stray animal saves 2900 endangered animals in five years.
I am also passionate about writing and using that passion to make a difference. In 2020, I wrote a book called Underdogs, inspired by the plight of the children of migrant workers during the lockdown. This book showcased inspiring stories of legends in different fields who came from poor backgrounds, to make readers aware that all children deserve a chance to fulfil their potential and encourage them to get involved. All sales proceeds from this book were donated to Save The Children India.
To help drive awareness of the issue of endangered animals in urban habitats and how we can all make a difference through everyday actions, I decided to write a book called Back from the Brink: Join the War against Animal Extinction, which highlighted the problem of animal extinction in urban areas and detailed solutions which common people can easily implement in their daily lives. I included real-life case studies of how communities have come together to make a difference. I have been working on this book for the last few months, and I was excited to see my book being published and becoming available on Amazon starting this week, when we also celebrate World Earth Day. I just received an author copy today when I returned from school and am sharing my photo with the book and the book cover. Am really excited about continuing my passion for writing and using it to reach out to readers on issues I feel strongly about and want to make a difference in.”
Back From the Brink is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.in/Back-Brink-against-Animal-Extinction/dp/1636405231/
