My Story: Anuradha Bandari

Posted on Sunday, September 15, 2013 by LEAD

Anuradha Bandari
 (Govt First Grade College, Sirsi)





“I believe that true happiness is the ability to bring smiles to others’ faces.”


I believe that our country has everything that it needs-we’re just not using what we have in the right way.Still, many people today are working hard to create new things.But if everyone works to create new things, there is no meaning.For this reason, I have dedicated my work to making improvements to existing things.

My village, Bommanalli, near Sirsi, had a water problem.  During the hotter seasons, our people suffered from water shortages.  I wanted my village to have a water tank to prevent this problem from happening in the future.  I knew that while our village could not afford to fund the construction of a water tank, the Gram Panchayath could.  The Gram Panchayath sanctions money for these kinds of things, but the money was not being properly utilized.  I wanted to use this money to help my village. 


It was very difficult to approach the Gram Panchayath because they did not know who I was.  They did not take me seriously.  They questioned me…questions such as “Who are you?” and “Why should we give you the money?”.  I became angry because they were not listening to me, but I never lost my confidence.  I kept approaching them.  They eventually became frustrated with me, but I did not care.  I wanted to create change, and I wanted other people to look at my village as an example of possibility and opportunity. 


My perseverance made the Gram Panchayath to sanction Rs. 2 lakh for the construction of a water tank in my village.   My project actually turned out to be more successful than I had initially planned for; During my meetings with the Gram Panchayath, it also became known that my village did not have any streetlights.  So, in addition to funding the water tank, the Gram Panchayath funded Rs. 34,000 to construct streetlights in my village.




This project taught me many important lessons.  I learned how to communicate with different types of people.  Not everyone thinks the same way, and we have to adjust our approach for each individual in order for him/her to understand.  When we do not understand each other, that poses a big problem.  When we can understand each other, so many solutions to big problems become available.

When I got an award from Ratan Tata at Yuva Summit 2013, that was a huge moment for me.  After that, I kept getting so many ideas, and I have since completed many projects.  


 

 

I believe that true happiness is the ability to bring smiles to others’ faces.  This is the main value that I plan to instill throughout my life Whatever I end up doing, I will create happiness for myself by giving others a reason to smile.  I want to help society.  I want to be a voice for the people.  From my work with LEAD, I have learned the value of understanding, and I want others to also learn the same lessons.
 

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