2022 Essay winners present their award-winning ideas at the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit 2022!

For the first time since its inception, winners of the youth essay competition could present their ideas to philanthropists, business leaders, and nonprofit executives live and in person! Students and their families traveled from as far away as California and drove in from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Regardless of the distance, all were thrilled to be there, and the students presented their cases expertly. Indiaspora, a founding member of the India Philanthropy Alliance, and GiveIndia hosted the gathering as part of their annual Philanthropy Summit on October 28 at the Indian Consulate in New York City.

Mona Shah of the Sarva Mangal Family Trust, which has supported the competition since its inception, interviewed two winners and one runner-up. Riya Balaji advocated for clean air and noted that air pollution is one of India's leading causes of death. She spoke about the deadly impact of current pollution levels, with fine particulate matter being 11.6 times the air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization. Esha Gadi spoke passionately about rape and the criminal justice system, after having heard the harrowing experience of a loved one in India. Chinmayi Joshi, spoke to religious intolerance and encouraged her audience to keep an open mind and speak up for those who are being discriminated against. In addition to  advocating for their favorite cause, winners were excited to be able to support their nonprofit of choice by donating their prize awards.

Learning about the key issues facing India today, and doing the research to provide a compelling argument for how best to address these issues, has been a key ingredient to student success and satisfaction. The number one reward students report is learning that their voice can and will be heard and they can truly have an impact.

About the Youth Essay Competition
The competition was launched in February of 2020 to encourage philanthropic thought and action among American youth with ties to or interest in India. Now in its fourth year, the competition has brought dedicated and talented youth together with leading philanthropic organizations in what we hope will be a lifelong commitment to advancing development and poverty reduction programs in India. The Sarva Mangal Family Trust has sponsored the competition since its inception, and the Iowa-based Sehgal Foundation joined as a sponsor in 2022.

Each essay was written in response to the following prompt: India is the world’s largest democracy and has made significant progress on social and environmental issues over the past 25 years.  But India and its 1.3 billion people still have many urgent and unmet needs. What do you think is the most significant issue facing India and its people today? What role do you think individuals (young and old) and groups here in the U.S. can play in being a part of the solution?

You can access the essays of competition winners, runners-up, and finalists below.

2022 Winning Essays

Middle School

Winner: Riya Balaji, $1000 award granted to Invisible Girl Project

Runner-up: Yashaswini (Yashi) Bhowmick , $500 award granted to UNICEF USA

Finalist: Ramanathan Venkatesh

To read the top essays from the 2021 competition, click here.

To read the top essays from the 2020 competition, click here.

To learn about the development of IPA and its role in advancing collaboration among leading NGOs in India, click here.