About Us
We are a team of young people who are striving to make a progressive impact in the world in every way possible. The organisation is based on the belief that anyone with honest intentions and a simple idea can make a difference. The Youth Project has been growing rapidly since we started and now have a large membership which spans across the globe. We want to eliminate the common perception that young people are incapable of making a positive difference.
What we do?
We have and will set up a variety of projects to improve the lifestyle of different people through providing them with equal opportunities. To date, we have set up over 100 projects around the world, ranging from helping the homeless, to a digital magazine that voices young people. To keep up to date with our projects please check out our projects page.
In order to fund these projects, we organise a number of fundraising events and campaigns.
Causes
One thing which is really different about TYP, is the genuine variety amongst the causes we support. Our members are passionate about a number of different things and we are open to the idea of supporting almost anything that works towards the provision of equal opportunities for all.
Our Family
Eashan Thakrar
Founder
Eash is a firm believer that age and grades should not define who you are in society. From founding TYP to every project he leads today, Eash is living proof that you can make social change despite your background. Eash is extremely passionate about supporting the underprivileged kids in the slums of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He visits them regularly, teaching them at school and coaching them football on the pitches TYP have built there. Last year, Eash spent a year in Mumbai working in the Bollywood music industry. In his spare time, Eash can either be caught eating or playing FIFA - his only two passions other than TYP.
Valavan Ananthakumaraswamy
Founding Member
Valavan has grown up in Edmonton; it can’t have been easy. Perhaps this explains his ardent desire to want to make the world a better place. Valavan is always looking out for everyone else ahead of himself and is the true definition of a selfless individual. He has a strong passion for bringing people together and that is why he works so hard on the schools and universities project. Valavan now attends Stanford University, where he studies Symbolic Systems, which is an interdisciplinary major that covers Computer Science, Psychology, Philosophy and Linguistics, with a spotlight on AI and Rationality.
Aadil Khan
Founding Member
Aadil is the unsung hero of TYP and is one of the most dedicated and driven members of our team. He is one of the very few people that believed in and embodied our vision from day one. Even when he is not working on TYP (which he spends the majority of his time doing), he is still serving others, whether it be working with refugee communities from around the world or simply mentoring young students in London. Acting as CEO of TYP UK, Aadil is the person to contact if you are an individual/organisation in the UK that would like to work with us. Aadil speaks a number of languages fluently and is going to be studying Mathematics with Modern Languages at UCL.
Karan Patel
Founding Member
Without Karan's passion and drive we wouldn’t be who we are today. He initially built the whole digital magazine, The New Word, by himself and most of our digital designs are created by him. From the start, Karan was always the first one to contest Eash and he’s not afraid to stand out from the norm if it means pushing what he believes is right, even when nobody else has the confidence to. In his spare time, Karan teaches himself guitar, competes as a black belt martial artist and independently studies philosophy. After serving TYP for 3 years, Karan is no longer part of our team, but he will always remain in the TYP family. He does however still help out with various project and event related tasks when we need his help or support.
Dylan Gokani
Founding Member
Dylan is the realist amongst us. At our directors’ meetings we tend to get carried away with world-changing, global concepts which may be a tad ambitious at that particular time. Dylan is the one that makes us see sense and get back on track. He is also extremely professional at all times - so much so that on event days it is difficult to tell whether you're dealing with a TYP member or professional venue staff when speaking to him. We are blessed to have had Dylan as part of our family since the beginning. Dylan loves Economics and has a passion for micro-finance initiatives. His forever happy mood and caring personality ensure that everyone is having a good time when they're around him. Dylan now studies Economics at Cambridge University and is no longer part of our team but is always the first to help and promote TYP regardless, especially during the holidays when he has more time. In his spare time, you will probably find Dylan doing homework or losing hopelessly at FIFA.
Martin Bazin
CEO of TYP France
Martin is a French student who is studying political sciences and international relations. His relationship with The Youth Project started with a trip to India that led him to co-found the French branch of the organisation with Constance. His passion lies in equal rights and access to education for all and in order to achieve this Martin takes pride in working regularly with refugees from all over the world. Aside from The Youth Project, he loves travelling and discovering new places over anything. He has lived in a number of cities all around the world.
Constance Estienne
TYP France
Constance is originally from Brazil but now resides in Paris. She studies at Université Paris-Est Créteil. Constance and Martin founded the French branch of The Youth Project together and have gone on to empower and inspire many young people. Constance is passionate about improving the lives of those less fortunate than herself and, like many TYP members, has served at Manav Sadhna in Ahmedabad on numerous occasions. Constance is also very passionate about serving the youth of her home countries, Brazil and France. She's worked with refugees on a regular basis. She also cares very much about youth engagement, holding regular Cafe Info projects with TYP France. Constance is really good fun to be around and everyone enjoys her company.
Sohum Thakkar
Advisor at TYP USA
Sohum Thakkar serves as an advisor to the United States branch of The Youth Project. He is one of the technological members of the TYP family - he played a big part in the re-design of The New Word Magazine, as well as having helped the TYP UK team with many of their other projects requiring technical insight. He currently studies Physics and Business at UC Berkeley. When not working on TYP, he enjoys playing soccer, running off into the woods, binge-listening to music and talking to random people on the streets. He also loves making things, from Android apps to quadcopters to 3D animations.
Gokul Kannan
TYP USA
Gokul is a Co-founder of The Youth Project in the USA. He is passionate about research, engineering, and social innovation. He would like to develop breakthrough technologies that are economical enough to impact the lives of disadvantaged people around the world. He enjoys being the last line of defense for his soccer team, as much as he enjoys making an assist for a goal. He is passionate about bringing people together for a worthy cause, and leading by example. He has been active in mentoring high school students in robotics, in a village school in India. In summer, he enjoys Johns Hopkins CTY programs and performs research at Johns Hopkins Medicine on manipulating the glymphatic system for treating traumatic brain injury. He played a key role on bringing together high school students for TYP projects in inner city Baltimore and Washington DC areas, leading and guiding the administrative and organizational aspects and growing the organization through outreach activities with the help of celebrities.
Keya Sajip
TYP UK
Keya has been quick to take the reins of events at The Youth Project with outstanding results, where her determination and vision led her first two events to being TYP UK's largest to date. She's a charitable and loving individual who finds her own ways to inject good into everything that we do. Even when she doesn't believe in herself, her selfless actions inspire everyone else at The Youth Project to want to do more and has them believe that everyone can change the world without even realising. When she's not busy with her charitable endeavours, Keya impressively performs Piano, Clarinet and Bharatanatyam at a Grade 8 level. Another selfless act was Keya's decision to study Medicine at Cambridge University, where after her five years of study she will dedicate her life to help others as a doctor.
Matthew Morvan
TYP France
Matthew Morvan deeply believes that human contact, art, service and self-reflection compose the journey towards a personal fulfilment. He is currently studying his way through 12th grade at the Lycée International of Saint Germain en Laye in France. Similarily to Eashan he was changed by his stay at the Manav Sadhna community of Ahmedabad in India, where he first met The Youth Project team. Writing about his experience in this community pierced the superficial materialist bubble he was living in as he decided to create the Kassiopé Project at the Age of 15. This project is an association, and its goal was to create a sustainable, mobile eye care clinic for the slums of Ahmedabad. The project finally bloomed and successfully achieved its goal in the summer of 2016, coincidentally the same week Matthew and his team met Eashan and Valavan. This combination lead to an explosion of projects and ideas flooding the Kassiopé team's mind. Currently Matthew has also been responsible for organising our first homeless drive in Calais, in order to help the growing refugee population over there. When Matthew isn't writing or undertaking new projects, he is either self-reflecting, running, admiring art or undergoing all three at the same time.
Godfrey Wandera
TYP Kenya
Godfrey is commonly known as Podgy in his village and amongst his friends. He is a Kenyan Citizen by birth and is a student at Daystar University pursuing International Relations and Security studies. Godfrey is an avid public speaker and is hugely respected within his community, often being asked to give motivational talks. He believes he, and other young people are able to change the world and will not rest until he does. When not directing TYP in his country, Godfrey loves to play field hockey and is interested in global politics.
Amogh Thakkar
TYP USA
Amogh is currently a senior at River Hill High School and is the National Director of TYPUSA. Amogh always has a vision in sight and always has insight for his vision, allowing his ideas to become realities. At TYPUSA, Amogh coordinates much of the technological process and will play a big role in our new project TYP Speaks Out. When not helping The Youth Project change the world, as an award-winning filmmaker Amogh loves filming random objects and making movies. As a magician, he loves dazzling people with random card tricks. Otherwise, he loves playing soccer barefoot and adventuring deep into a forest.
Harini Kannan
TYP USA
Harini is currently in college at Harvard University. She has been with the organization for 3 years. She is primarily on creating new and innovative projects with a “second generation” of TYP members, as well as spreading TYP’s name in the area. Outside of TYP, she competes on an FTC robotics team, does cancer research at Johns Hopkins, and is a vice president in her school’s student government. She also enjoys singing and playing her ukulele, spending time with her family, and traveling and learning about different cultures.
Anuhya Challagundla
TYP USA
Anuhya believes every individual has the ability to change the world and to pursue their dreams and to set a Legacy of Leadership. She enjoys making a positive impact on the lives of others. Anuhya is honored to be part of expanding TYP to all around the world. She envisions a world where more and more youth should, no matter where they are, should be given the opportunity to serve others and grow as a future leader. Something that she finds particularly special is TYP’s ability to profoundly impact our communities at the local, state, and national level. Anuhya is passionate about changing the world, and she hopes to one day have her own cybersecurity company or an It consulting firm. In her spare time, she is either found wandering off into the woods, working, binge watching YouTube, or choreographing to the latest Bollywood music.
Onike Chelangwa Mcharo
TYP Tanzania
Onike holds a degree in Economics and Sociology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management. She has spent six years working as freelance Research Assistant as part of various projects, ranging from maternal health to socioeconomic and youth development. She is also a member and the treasurer for the Chuo life organisation which is a non-governmental youth agency which aims to empower the youth to use their skills and potential to aid personal development. Onike likes to work on youth development as she believes that youth have the power to change the world. The synergy between her current work and TYP led her to want to establish a branch in her home country of Tanzania. When not working on empowering the youth, she likes to read, listen to music, understand fashion trends as well as cooking and traveling.
TYP Awards
The TYP Award is our annual award, it is presented at the event marking TYP Day (28th February) for the previous year. We choose a team member, across all of our countries, who has shown exceptional commitment, passion, drive and ability.
Valavan Ananthakumaraswamy
TYP Award Winner 2015
Valavan was chosen for the first ever TYP Award by all of the other directors at the time. He is one of the main driving forces behind a lot of our work and without his passion and commitment we certainly would not be where we are today. Being one of the first 5 members, he has been on the journey since day one and has been part of our whole story.
Sohum Thakkar
TYP Award Winner 2016
Sohum was chosen by the global board to receive the 2nd TYP award. His unwavering enthusiasm and drive are undeniable. He led the effort to start and grow the team in the USA, worked on several global projects, and even helped run events in the UK. Despite setbacks in his life, his dedication to TYP has shone through every step of the way.
Aadil Khan
TYP Award Winner 2017
Aadil was unanimously chosen to win the third TYP Award for his consistent commitment to TYP since the first day. He has devoted his life to the cause for the last 4 years and we are truly grateful to him for doing so.