INTERVIEW OF SWARN (FOUNDER OF CODIA)!!!

CODIA WEBSITE LINK: https://linktr.ee/codiaeducation

Hi Swarn, Could u please introduce yourself so that the audience can get to know you better!!

Thanks for calling me up, this is Swarn and you can call me a ninth grader and you can also call me a public speaker. I'm interested in public speaking. That's why I call myself a public speaker and I am a founder of an organization named Codia. You can find it on web and it's actually a nonprofit organization and the best way to define it as like it's a platform where underprivileged children can get access to education. So that's what I'm currently doing.

Yeah, it was so interesting. I saw your website and I noticed that you're saying you want it to spread the importance of literacy, and I noticed that you also had a lot of different countries which you were active in. what were some of the methods that you try to diffuse your message?

Okay. So for presenting myself in front of the audience and for telling them what I do, it's like, quite simple. You need to present yourself in a good way. And basically what methods we use for reaching out to different children is that we find out NGOs, who are already established. Who are working with different children and we reach out to them. We asked them that we want to educate the children you are connected with. And if they agreed at that point, we just start making prerecorded videos for that particular curriculum. And, yeah, that's basically the way.

Great. So, okay let's go back to, like, when you first started, tell me your process or like where you came up with this idea, the challenges, you know, like tell me the journey.

Yeah. Actually, if you look to India, it's like only 74% of the population is educated. It's literate. Let me say. So it's very necessity for educating people in India and for like, at least getting to a 90% of literacy rate of a country and earlier in our childhood, we are often taught that education is the only way a country can grow. And if you want a good country, you need to spend, you need to invest in the human resource. I thought, like during the covid 19 period the underprivileged children were not able to attain the best quality education. And I thought like, this is a topic which everyone should think upon and I just took this initiative.

Great. So what were some of the challenges implementing Codia or were there any?

Yeah, basically when you start an organization you do not have any investment, for gathering the human resource or gathering the manpower. It was quite difficult for me talking honestly, This idea came to my mind and I just decided to plan upon of this organization work upon, and I started recruiting people. I started asking if anyone is interested in working with organization like this, and if they are ready to take the efforts and time and, uh, yeah, that was a process. We reached out to different organizations, we reached out to different NGOs connected with different underprivileged children. And that's what we did.

What do you think makes your organization stand out from the previous, you know, already established ones? Like why do you think people are in essence so attracted to your organization, either supporting it, or, you know, being a volunteer?

Actually when you want to gather a human resource and manpower, you need to give them incentives, sort of certificates and all. And, uh, yeah, like talking about people, interacting with me, interacting with my organization. Um, it's, it's something you need to present yourself in a better way. And that's the basic point. You need to communicate what you want to convey. And that was the basic point through which I guess the people were able to join my organization.

So you're very young, you know, you're in ninth grade, and you already have all these amazing public speaking skills. And you're very eloquent. When you talk, what do you learn? These types of skills how do you obtain them? Were you raised in a certain way or is it just you?

Okay. speaking frankly, I have a habit. Like whenever at night, I have to go to bed. I just surf through YouTube. And I look to people who are already in this industry, already in this line. And I look up to them and actually talking about how I gained this skill. Um, I'm a student of St. Michael's high school and it's quite a famous school, it plays a factor of me being like this.

Okay. So it's your personality and in combination with your education, Right

Exactly. Okay. So, who do you look up to then?

Uh, actually I have many, and as I said, I surf through YouTube many times. I just look people who are already in this industry and, and particularly talking, I guess I look up to Shaurya Sinha from India.

Really. Okay. That's really cool. Definitely have to check them out. Ok so What are your hobbies like?

I do graphic designing, I'll do illustrations and all also, um, you can call me sort of an artist. I make portraits and all, and I love communicating. I love public speaking, as I said. And just surfing through YouTube.

Yeah. Great. So how has your daily life/schedule change after Codia. Because after you started Codia, you have like a big presence within the education industry and all that. How has that changed for you?

Yeah, actually, when I tell people that I'm leading an organization, my society people are just amazed. I'm not exaggerating in that point, but yeah, that happens because the society I come from, it's sort of like stereotype you can say. And as you mentioned that point of my daily schedule, I need to focus on studies as well. And I need to look up to my organization, look up to the people, working in my organization, I won't take all the credits, whatever, wherever I'm standing Today is all because of the people working in Codia the people who are putting their time or putting their efforts in it. So yeah, some sort of credits for them.

Oh, of course. Do you have any regrets in the way that you made the organization? If you could go back to the beginning, would you change anything alter or do you like where it is right now?

Yeah, I do like where it is right now But I should have looked before I started this organization. I should have made a plan, a proper plan, my work flow. I like, till now I’m struggling with the workflow and all, but things are going well because I have my team members now to help me out. But back then there is no one for me to tell me those management skills and marketing skills and all and on how to present myself to the audience. And, yeah, that was a thing which I think I should have changed. I should have made a proper plan before I just popped into the industry.

One last question. What do you want the future of Codia to be?

Okay. So, this is not just the end, teaching 700 children in different countries. This is just obviously not the end. I want to spread the awareness of education and work Why education is very necessary for everyone's life, and how an educated person can change the mindset of the whole community. You can change the minds of the whole society you can say. And yeah, that's what our basic goal is to spread the awareness of education and at least teach a number of children, at least teach a number of underprivileged. Uh, yeah, till how much I can teach. Obviously it's like many organizations working for the same goal and you can see like it's in a haystack, you'll find a needle. Like Codia is Needle and it's like haystack over there, but yeah. One organization cannot carry forward the goals of millions of children, millions of underprivileged kids.

Exactly. Which is why you created Codia to increase the literacy rate and empower youth. Okay. Well, thank you so much for your time. It was really nice to meet you. Thank you so much. I hope you have a nice day.

Thank you. Same to you. And thanks for calling me up.

Thank you. We'll definitely keep watching the development of Codia!!

Yeah, definitely. Thank you. Bye-bye