Mahika Mishra Foundation | Empowering Every Child To Speak Up

• ByStartupStory     |    February 5, 2021

“Now is the time to raise your voices and make it reach the highest authorities”- Mahika Mishra, Founder, Mahika Mishra Foundation in an exclusive and engaging interview with Startup Story Media.

Not a story about any successful entrepreneur or a startup bringing change in the economy, it’s the story of a 13 year old girl and her initiative towards amplifying children’s voices, that are otherwise ignored or suppressed in the society.

IGNITION OF THE IDEA

Few years back waiting at a traffic signal Mahika realized that people keep honking without any reason, adding up to the level of noise pollution. She spontaneously came up with a solution that seemed implementable. Her father encouraged her to share it with industry leaders. That is when she decided to write to Anand Mahindra. The letter was tweeted by Mr Mahindra and it went viral. Mahika had an epiphany on how powerful a letter could be, and with the idea, ‘A pen is mightier than a sword’, Mahika took a step forward and initiated a movement, ‘Letters For Change’. She founded her non-profit organization Mahika Mishra Foundation in 2019, registered as a Section 8 company under the Companies Act, 2013 in Mumbai.

LETTERS FOR CHANGE: A PLATFORM FOR CHILDREN’S OPINION

“Letters For Change is an initiative that encourages children to write letters on issues they think will change their lives”- Mahika Mishra

While other children of Mahika’s age were busy attending classes, tutions, submitting assignments, and projects, Mahika doubled up and thought about how, globally, children don’t have the right to vote or put forward their opinions. Most decisions concerning children are taken by adults without consulting them. At Letters for Change, she created a platform for children to express their opinions, concerns and make a difference.

“You can create that difference too. Any child can!”- tells Mahika during an exclusive interview with Startup Story Media.

Further, upon asking the kind of letters Mahika and her foundation are receiving, she said they are of different kinds and each one is unique and eye opening in its own way. She added that the most unique one till date was a letter written by a girl about how marriage age for girls should change in our country. The initiative accepts only handwritten letters. With each letter received, Mahika and her initiative are on the path to change the world one letter at a time.

YOUTH IS THE BACKBONE

According to Mahika, the most unique feature about their organization is that it is completely run by students from different spheres. Starting from social media promotions to raising funds is all handled by students who are 19 to 20 years of age.This is what sets their initiative apart from all the other organisations.

MESSAGE FROM A TEENAGER

“Never stop believing,

Everything will come crashing and burning once,

Everything will come collapsing on your head,

Everything will come by once

Everything will fall in line

Nothing will stop”- Mahika Mishra

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