My long drawn wish to meet Amrit Gurung, the musician I had grown up listening to, was realized through the mentorship program of WWF Nepal’s The Generation Green (TGG) campaign. The campaign was six months long starting from February in 2015.
Gurung sir was an unexpected source of wisdom and a well of inspiration. Being mentored by him meant a spiritual voyage wherein I learnt to adapt and exploring new places/things with no reservations. He taught us to connect with people through music while learning about our inner self.
The TGG campaign seeks to strengthen the engagement of Nepal’s youth, like me, in conservation and empower us for sustainable development. Now, if you think that at the end of six months, you will undergo a vast change and turn into a spiritual leader of your generation, you are mistaken. But undoubtedly, TGG is an excellent platform where you will learn to acquire the ability to rationalize, make smart decisions, and hone your leadership skills while learning about teamwork, courage and creativity that is valuable in any field of life.
The 180 days of commitment means 180 days of hard work. From guidelines to field experience, the program provided an excellent platform for those who take action with devotion. But scaling the height of success is possible only for those who seek it with a sheer curiosity in them. After all, the ultimate captain of your ship of success is you.
The mentorship program provided me an opportunity to conduct a research for the first time in my life. While I went to observe the status of the Open Defecation Free Campaign and interacted with concerned individuals, I realized the power of young people as social mobilizers to eradicate social defects. Thus, I learnt not just from my assigned mentor but also from each individual I met during the entire six months.
A few weeks ago, I met the second batch of the TGG mentees. Now I see 88 mentees who are reflections of my time. They are vibrant with new ideas revolving around the concept of ‘Green’ such as bottle gardening, research on air pollution, and solid waste management. It feels even more joyous to see how fellow mentees of Gurung sir are attempting to channel the power of art, nature and writing with people and for common good.
Brothers and sisters from the new batch are optimistic about learning from their mentors. This year, there are a number of changes as the mentorship program has a more diverse range of experts and celebrity individuals, as well as providing a broader platform for project selection. Each group is offered support for project implementation. This proves that the initiation of youth is being supported in every possible way and upcoming mentees should take this matter into serious account so as to bring up the very best ideas from their potential.
TGG program is a huge meeting place for enthusiastic young people and experts to come together, exchange ideas and learn. If the program promises more direct, frequent and effective interactive sessions with the mentors, it could prove to be an unforgettable experience for thousands of mentees to come. The voyage can be phrased in different ways- ‘sensational’ as I would call it, or to quote a fellow mentee, “chaos, but a lovely chaos”.
The writer is a third year student of Environment Science at Patan Multiple Campus. She was among the first batch of The
Generation Green mentorship program.
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