BHUBANESWAR: A girl from a slum has made the city proud. Deepanjali Swain (19) is representing the State in the 25th International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD25) at Nairobi, also known as Nairobi Summit.
Swain works as a peer leader (Pragati Sathi) under the socially smart project of Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) to educate the local community on various issue, impart leadership training to the children and youth in the slum. Swain, who also raise issues and problems faced by the children, reached the international arena with her leadership abilities and dedicated social work.
Swain visited Nairobi to attend the ICPD25 summit. Her father is a contractual employee in a government-run printing press, while mother is a housewife.
Apart from social work, she is also studying OT Technician course under Para-medical disciplines at the Centurion University of Technology and Management.
Swain said given the challenging economic condition of her family, it wasn’t easy for her to reach this level.
BMC Commissioner and BSCL CEO Prem Chandra Chaudhary, who also joined the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25 as a delegate, said, the Socially Smart Project of BSCL and BMC carried out with support from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a mechanism of social change and equity that strives to give a better life and opportunity to slum dwellers.”