From Local Workshops to Global Support: Winning the IB Youth Action Fund

When I first started planning the very first workshop for Workers of India, I remember carrying heavy stacks of printed booklets into the community center, feeling incredibly nervous. As a 17 year old, I was unsure if anyone would even show up, let alone take me seriously.

But as the room filled with domestic workers eager to learn about their e-Shram benefits, my doubts quickly faded. The willingness to learn was absolutely there. However, looking at the road ahead, I kept asking myself a recurring question. How do I reach more people and build real tech solutions without a dedicated source of funding?

Today, I am incredibly proud to share an answer to that question. I have been selected as an awardee for the 2026 IB Global Youth Action Fund for my work with Workers of India. This initiative by the International Baccalaureate supports youth led community projects around the world.

It is truly an honor to be part of this year's cohort. I am standing alongside 110 youth led projects from over 40 different countries. In total, this group represents 324 young people who are all trying to make a difference in their communities. Through this program, Workers of India will receive a grant of up to $3,000 USD and a full year of mentorship, programming, and peer collaboration.

Over the past few months, I have been working on engineering an AI powered WhatsApp chatbot to help informal workers auto generate employment contracts and get real time registration guidance. Building a multilingual tool with voice to text features requires more than just time and technical effort. It requires a financial foundation to run the software, handle the AI processing, and eventually deploy it to the masses.

This grant changes everything. It will directly fund the technology behind the chatbot and help bring my vision for a community mentor network to life. It means I can start looking past the limitations of small local workshops and begin reaching thousands of workers across India who desperately need access to their rights.

I started Workers of India because I saw the stark inequality around me and knew I had to do something about it. The people who help us every single day deserve security and respect. This award is a massive step forward for the cause.

Thank you to everyone who has supported this journey so far. The official announcement went out yesterday on April 10, and I am so excited for the work ahead.

Where do we go from here? I am just getting started.