Ramzan

Name: Varun Goel
Nationality: Indian
Email: varungoel388@gmail.com
Job Title: Volunteer and Mentor at Ummeed Aman Ghar under "Project Leap"
Job Description: Managing and Organizing TEDxYouth@Ummeed. My work included mentoring my kid, Ramzan over a period of four months.
Introduction: For me, it started when a friend of mine asked me to join "Project Leap" (a collaboration between Teach for India and Becoming I Foundation) with her. As she was a year senior to me in Becoming I, she was allotted a revolving structure class, while I chose Shahsank's TEDx class. I had a hunch that this project would turn out to be really amazing, as I was really inspired by Shashank's passion and his great vision. A couple of days later, my friend came up to me and said that she wished she had been a part of the TEDx class instead! Since the first session with the Ummeed kids about four months ago, till today actually being able to put up an event of such scale, it has been a roller coaster ride! It has truly been one of the best experiences ever for me and I can definitely say, I have become a better human being

For me, the past four months have gone by in a flash. I remember introducing myself to the kids during
our first session with them. And there I saw a kid, just about my age. Smart, responsible, mature.
Ramzan. I kind of felt an instant connection with him. I was a little nervous as "the kids" were going to
choose a mentor each that day. Incredibly, Ramzan chose me and quite frankly I could not have asked
for anyone better.

The relation that we managed to develop over the next four months is inexplicable. We grew a sense of
mutual understanding and closeness that soon made me his "BRO".i remember he won two awards at his
annual day event at Ummeed. The first person he decided to call straight after that was me!! I can never
forget that moment. He has been an amazing ward, and an even greater friend. Getting to know him and
his stories has been one of the most enriching experiences for me at Ummeed. I truly have learnt a lot
from them. I would be lying if I said that we haven’t had our share of ups and downs, but I am glad that
we did. It has only made our bond stronger.

Ramzan is a fun-loving person who feels strongly about street children, vendors and rag-pickers. He
considers himself very lucky to have been rescued and gotten a chance to gain education. But what I
love about him is that he doesn’t stop there. He works as a caretaker in a nightshelter and goes out to
rescue others just like him. I greatly respect this thinking of his and sincerely hope that one day change
will come. With a small step, for a far greater cause - I believe in TEDxYouth@Ummeed. "I believe i can!"