The SBI Youth For India Fellowship program was founded on 1st March 2011. SBI Youth for India (SBI YFI) is entirely run and funded by the State Bank of India which partners with many recognized NGOs.
It is a completely Indian program. Mumbai, Maharashtra serves as its location. The people who are selected for the fellowship tie-up with NGOs or work with them on many challenging projects. It is a 13-month long fellowship program which helps the young generation especially, to work on challenging projects, including working on rural development projects in partnership with experienced NGOs.
The first batch selected in 2011 had 27 fellows, who worked with utmost passion and dedication. The concept received positive feedback from everyone. The second batch was selected in 2014 with 51 fellows. Slowly and gradually the journey covered 35 rural locations across 12 states of India, in partnership with 10 NGOs.
Vision Of SBI Youth For India
The vision of this fellowship program is that each and every village should be in a position to develop themselves. It works to reduce the rural-urban gap. Its mission is to select those fellows who are extremely dedicated and very willing to make a change. Some of the core values which YFI believes should positively impact the community are:
1. Respect: Each and every individual should respect each other’s work, and other opinions, should appreciate new and unique talents.
2. Service to the community: There should be a healthy environment and a healthy relationship between everyone. People should appreciate the work done by others, even if it is only a small service.
3. Creativity: Thinking out of the box is always encouraged. At SBI Youth for India, people value innovative minds and individuals who are ready to bring about a positive change in society.
4. Fairness: Every person working in the community, for the community, should be treated equally.
SBI Youth For India Partners
The SBI Youth for India Fellowship works with 10 NGOs as partners. Here are some of them:
1. Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP): This programme aims for the enrichment of rural communities by providing direct support. The programme covers over 2000 villages, mainly in Bihar, Gujarat, etc. It has changed the lives of around 1.5 million people for the better. The main focus areas of the programme are providing education to children, fulfilling basic needs like water and sanitation.
2. Basic Development Research Foundation: This foundation was established in 1967 by a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, with the sole motive of providing livelihood to the rural community. Empowering people and transforming lives is the main agenda of the foundation. It covers a total of 16 states in India including Pune, Gujarat.
3. Barefoot College: This organization aims to fight poverty and inequality and seeks to protect the rights of every individual. It works for the betterment of rural and local people in the areas of education, health, drinking water, and women empowerment.
What Does The Fellowship Program Involve?
The program is divided into three parts: familiarization, implementation and sustenance.
- Familiarization: The first step is orientation week, especially organized for the fellows to give them a quick overview of rural development. It is the best time to get to know each other. During this period, the fellows are assigned to a particular NGO. After the orientation week, the fellows spend some time at the NGO assigned to them for better understanding of the work. A local mentor is also assigned to them. They get to interact with the people at the NGO. After discussing the work with an assigned mentor, the fellow has to finalize a project area, objective, structure etc.
2. Implementation: This stage includes approval of the area, structure and objective. The fellows have nine months to implement the given project. The main challenge for them is to find a good solution which benefits the community. There is also a two-week review, organized by SBI YFI for the fellows to share their work. It is reviewed by experts and alumni who give their valuable suggestions.
3. Sustenance: In the last few months of the program, the fellow has to appoint a potential person who can take over the project and continue the work, after he/she leaves.
Areas Of Work
The SBI Youth For India fellows create a new project keeping several things in mind:
1. Education: One of the most important focus areas is education. The SBI YFI fellows have worked very hard to provide education to rural children and contribute towards their upliftment.
2. Health: The fellows and NGOs have a network of health workers, who work towards the betterment of people’s health, focusing on areas like sanitation, drinking water, child care etc.
3. Environmental protection: YFI fellows have developed various ideas for sustainable development, protecting natural resources and reduction of pollution.
4. Food security: YFI works to ensure that there should be enough food for everyone as population is increasing day by day and hunger is a major concern for our country.
5. Rural livelihood: Farmers cannot depend on farming as the only source of income. Therefore, the YFI fellows seek to help farmers by promoting farming practices and looking for alternative solutions.
6. Traditional crafts: SBI YFI helps promote traditional arts and crafts, making people their importance and cultural significance. There are many things which have now vanished such as several art forms, folk dances, etc.
7. Women empowerment: Women in rural areas have limited access to everything, be it education, independence, or even basic human rights. The fellows are working towards making women more self-dependent.
8. Water: 30% of the rural population does not have access to proper drinking water facilities. In the near future, the biggest problem everybody will face is a shortage of water. YFI aims to bring about sustainable solutions in this regard.
There are many reasons why you should apply and become a SBI Youth For India fellow today. There is a huge urban-rural gap in India, which is increasing day by day and people have to come together and help out the community in order to reduce this gap. There are not many programs which focus on the development of rural and local communities. During the 13 months of the YFI Fellowship, you have a chance to look at this burning issue and bring about a change in people’s lives.
