The beauty of hard work is that it ensures success. However, the harvest of labouring hours is not reaped in a day, although, it surely adds meaning and beauty to the formidable challenges encountered while treading the trackway to success in life. It has the power to beautify the most disquieting episodes of life.
This tenacious will power to beat the odds in life is exemplified in the spirit by Pankaj Shukla. He has earnestly climbed up the social ladder with his unlimited drive to be a good samaritan, despite the limited resources he had at the start.
He worked as a teacher before he embarked on his journey to create a positive impact by establishing an NGO that has sought to provide a familial home for orphans. His NGO, PS Foundation, works round the clock to put a smile on their faces.
Pankaj was born in a humble background in Kanpur. His family was hard-pressed to pay his school fees. Even as a young school-going boy, he realised that his family was struggling to keep him at school. Hence, he made efforts to do his bit by getting a menial job that helped him to buy minimal household items for his family.
After appearing for his matriculation examination, he took up the task of selling newspaper in his locality. Over time, he delivered newspapers to over 200 houses. To be on time, he woke up at 3am and cycled his way till 7 am. On realising that his studies were bound to be affected in the long run if he continued with his job, he took up the decision to give up his stint as a newspaper boy.
Subsequently, he was determined to pursue graduation. It was during this phase that he went on to set up a coaching institute with his dear friends Kuldeep, Bhanu and Abhishek. The revenue from the first month of coaching centre was not even enough to pay off the monthly rent. He had to carry the desks and benches for the centre on his bicycle as he couldn’t afford the transportation fee.
As time went by, the revenue started to breeze in. Gradually, he saved up sufficient funds and was now ready to take up the mission of providing support to those people who were marginalised in our society.
Through the NGO, people can celebrate their birthday among the children at the orphanage. The NGO also makes arrangements for the participating party to celebrate their birthday by visiting schools for the differently-abled and organising events like drawing competitions or excursion for them. The NGO team leaves no table unturned to lift the morale of these underprivileged kids and to bring a smile on their faces.
The NGO also caters food and other supplies to flood victims. They are also involved in renovating schools and parks. They are also pro-active at organising blood donation camps from time to time. They have been regularly distributing warm clothes to the natives of the tribal areas in winter. They have made food arrangements for over 10,000 people in the current period of the pandemic.
As he continues to march ahead with a positive vision, it goes hardly unnoticed that his success is attributed to his will power and his self-confidence. Through his correspondence with The Talented Indian, he shares that clinging onto one’s past should never be treated as an excuse to not strive hard enough to climb up the social ladder. His story motivates us to be kind and to be compassionate. Above all, it reminds us to find happiness and contentment in living a life dedicated to the goodness and well-being of our fellow beings.
