“I wanted to be a part of India’s growth,” said Navya Naveli Nanda while talking about starting Project Naveli, a programme that offers mental health support, legal awareness, and support of peer-to-peer groups. In the world of glitz and glamour where star kids often make headlines for what they wear, where they go to, and what they are doing in their personal life, Navya is building her legacy.
Coming from an affluent family of business people, politicians, and actors, she has been carving a new path for herself and inspiring the country’s youth to do their bit for society. She is an entrepreneur, a social worker, and now a writer who deserves all the attention in the world for the work she has been doing to eradicate period poverty and spread awareness about mental health.
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Through her recent association with Tinkle Comics, she has published four women-centric stories that promise to teach kids about women’s empowerment, mental health, education, and other crucial subjects. When was the last time you picked up an Indian comic and saw a female character breaking away from gender stereotypes? But the new generation of kids will have marvellous yet heroic female characters to look forward to and learn something from them.
Rights Of Women: ‘Everyone Should Be Aware Of Their Legal Right’
In a candid chat with HerZindagi, Navya opened up about the importance of legal awareness for girls and women. She said, “Forget about girls, everyone should be aware of their legal rights.”
The co-founder of Aara Health mentioned that she was also unaware of her rights until she started her project that offers legal aid to women. She emphasised that knowing about your rights gives you the option to tackle a situation in various ways, make informed decisions, and move on with life.
Eradicate Period Poverty: ‘It Does Not Happen Over Time’
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According to the National Health Survey, more than 64% of menstruators in India don’t have access to hygienic products and millions of girls drop out of school due lack of proper menstrual hygiene facilities.
Since Navya founded Project Naveli, it runs various projects to eradicate period poverty, including Period Positive Homes, Hakkachi Pali, and Menstrual Policy Movement, Navya said that the biggest challenge has been that it does not happen overnight.
She believes that we need to be consistent when working towards providing instructors with access to sanitary products and hygienic facilities for disposal.
Navya added that it takes time to sensitise people and build open conversations around the subjects that for aeons were considered taboos. Referring to the role of education institutions and families, the social worker said that the conversation needs to start from home.
“It (eradicating period poverty) is not a responsibility of just one person, institution, or NGO, I think all of us are responsible to do our bit. We all should take active efforts in that direction.”
She also said that the advancing conversation around mental health is gradually blurring the stigma associated with it. Since the young generation is becoming more aware of the importance of mental health and counsellors, we are rising above the stigma. Project Naveli offers free mental health couselling to many people who cannot afford it.
Entrepreneurship: ‘I Was Always Inclined Towards Entrepreneurship And Business’
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Speaking about her endeavours and Project Naveli, Navya said that since she grew up more around the business side of her family. She has always found herself inclined towards entrepreneurship and business.
“Young people in India today have the responsibility to build the next 20 or 30 years of the country and future. I wanted to be a part of that incredible growth of our nation,” Navya added.
She said, “India is a great place in time, we have just reached the moon, and we have achieved so much as a nation, I wanted to be a part of that growth and achievement.”
This is Navya doing her part and inspiring others to do their bit for the country and society.
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While Navya has not disclosed the characters she has picked to tell her stories, she added that it will be fun for kids as well as adults to read. The comic will be out in the last week of September, and we cannot wait to read what she has created with the team of designers and editors of Tinkle Comics.
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