From YouTube Star to Social Hero: Teenager Wali Rahmani’s Mission to Empower Orphaned Kids
With a clear vision for their future, Wali provides a 12-hour schedule packed with education, health care, and life lessons to guide the orphaned children in his care
Kolkata: It rarely happens that someone who is a teenaged student takes up the responsibility of nurturing other children. But teenager Wali Rahmani, who has made waves with his YouTube videos, is doing some significant work for society, which is a rarity.
Motivational speaker Wali Rahmani
The 19-year-old law student has adopted 23 orphans with the intention of nurturing them as future leaders. He founded Umeed, an organization that works for the better future of orphaned kids and takes care of their overall development. On April 1, Umeed turned one and celebrated its first foundation day.
On the occasion, a small function was organized where Umeed kids exhibited their acquired skills—right from singing and showcasing karate skills to presenting a skit before the audience.
Umeed’s founder, Wali, while addressing the gathering, stated that the health of the kids is their top priority, as several kids adopted under the aegis of Umeed were malnourished but are now healthy.
Umeed has a 12-hour timetable for each student. In these twelve hours, not only do the students start their day with milk and breakfast, but they also get lunch and dinner at the center. They study the school syllabus, do extracurricular activities, and learn foreign languages.
“We believe that the kids who come from underprivileged backgrounds, if left after 5-6 hours of study, will return to the same environment from which they were brought to the academy. Hence, we keep them engaged in studies and many other activities, so that they return home, fall asleep, and wake up the next morning to come back to us,” claimed Wali.
Wali also made it clear that despite most of the kids in Umeed being orphans, the organization is not an orphanage. “In fact, the kids here are getting what my children would get when I become a father,” claimed the young philanthropist.
Watch eNewsroom‘s exclusive talk with Wali Rahmani, at his Kolkata office.
