Changemaker Spotlight – Jiana Lakdawala

Read what Jiana, our changemaker from Mumbai studying in Grade 10 at The Cathedral and John Connon School has to say about her social impact journey!

I felt deeply about the issue of Climate Change as it’s been impacting all of us physically and mentally. In Mumbai where I live, the fog has been engulfing us and the AQI levels have deteriorated. As a result, my drive to study and get work done has also been affected. I don’t feel my best. I firmly believe that my
generation has to step up to fight Eco Anxiety. That’s how I chose to work with a group of students across India on ‘Eco Anxiety’ as a theme at TribesforGOOD.

In our project interactions, one teammate told us how they experienced breathlessness one day on the school bus. That incident reiterated that climate change has become an inevitable fight for us Gen Z. Prior to my project with TFG in December 2022, I started volunteering at Aseema Charitable Trust and Teach For India – teaching Maths and Science to around 70 underprivileged students in municipal schools across Mumbai. While I love Biology, my recent experiences with the weather’s impact on my own well-being and the significance given to mental health of late compelled me to explore Eco Anxiety & Mental Health.

I, along with other students, worked on conducting an awareness workshop and creating comic strips to generate interest in the topic. The awareness workshop for the students at Pratyek, an NGO in Delhi, was successful as they engaged well in the discussion on how climate change can cause eco-anxiety and in turn, affect our mental well-being. The comic strips were also fun to work on as they are an appealing way to spread a social message with a dash of humour. It was an enriching experience as we got to hear different perspectives on the issue and share information with the students at the NGO.

The best part is that feels amazing to make a little change that can make the world better. I still remember how one student in my previous volunteer engagement said they enjoyed learning science for the first time because of me. Even with my project at TribesforGOOD, I was able to carry forward my learnings and campaign in my school to collect milk bags for recycling. I do think we must all give back to society in whatever way we can because no change goes to waste. Besides, collective action leads to better results, so why not?

Applications are open for Global Challenges & Social Justice Summer Programs.