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Greetings!
Greetings! We're halfway into the first quarter of 2014 and many exciting events have been happening at JA in India and across the world. In India, we got off to a running start at the Standard Chartered Mumbai marathon, released the 2013 Volunteer and School Roll of Honour and the Social Innovation Relay 2014 is just warming up! In this newsletter, we also bring you some inspiring stories from JA Malaysia and South Africa and a couple of perspectives from our students on the importance of sports and volunteering in building career skills.
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Perspectives
Education and Experience
Sumera Dang is a class 12 student from Gurgaon and a JA volunteer. She aims to explore the field of Economics and has a blog NGOTalk where she writes about her research into NGOs working in the area of children's needs and education.
Access to quality education is a major goal for international development. Education connects further to other fundamental global issues like poverty, hunger, gender equality, health and environmental sustainability. It plays an imperative role in shaping the future of children, specially the underprivileged, and in turn, that of the entire nation. While some countries are making notable progress, there is still a great deal of work that can-and must-be done to ensure that all children have access to education.
Basic education alone is insufficient, children also need to understand how their education links to work and this is something each child can proactively undertake. As a student interested in social and developmental economics, I have spent some time studying the basic operations of NGOs, their funding process and how they work. I personally visited the NGO sites to see the actual ground work and talk to the real people who are working in this field and have shared my observations and insights via my blog NGOTalk. I have also volunteered with JA India to work with students from families below the poverty line, educating them about workforce readiness and entrepreneurship. All of these experiences have given me insight into the application of economics on a small scale as well as the needs of a community. I believe as students, we can take our learning much further by stepping up to experience the world beyond our textbooks. Not only does this action orient us further but also enables us to provide a helping hand for the betterment of our community.
Sports helps build skills for careers
 Garima Sood is an 8th standard student from DPS Gurgaon and a volleyball player. Here she shares some of her thoughts on why she believes playing sports is an important aspect of preparing for a career
As a student I strongly believe that all my skills and talents are going to help me in my career. Sports had been always one of my strongest points and I believe there are many aspects of it that will help us in our professional lives going forward. As a player I already know the value of team work and appreciating others efforts. Traveling to different places with the team, has given me a new confidence. I have learned to get along with others. I can also communicate my thoughts with others effectively, as often in sport one has to communicate critical things very quickly and how well we communicate impacts the outcome for the entire team. Though I do miss classes sometimes, I am confident that the lessons I learn as a player will never let me down. Thanks to sport, I have friends all over India and we are well connected. As we share our experiences, we get a better understanding of events and places and a much better perspective of life. I am happy that my parents have always encouraged me and support me for my love for sports and I strongly believe that this is important for all students, as it helps us be better prepared for any profession, and for life itself.
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News and Events JA India Business Challenge (JA IBC) is a great success The JA India Business Challenge 2013 also drew to a conclusion in 2013, after tremendous response from across India. More than 2500 students from 130 institutions participated in regional and national rounds. The national round also had 21 International teams competing as guests helping improve the standard of the competition. Mr Elnur Malikbayli from Azerbaijan, an alumnus of JA India Business Challenge, setup training sessions for the finalists of JAIBC 2013 helping them improve their understanding of the game. 12 people run for JA in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon  JA officially participated as an NGO in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon for the first time, in January 2014. 12 people represented JA across the half marathon and the dream run events. Social Innovation Relay is gathering momentum  SIR registrations have been extended to 1 March 2013 and we are working hard to spread the word about SIR so that more and more students can participate this year. We had received 723 registrations from 13 cities till the first week of February and 101 teams have been formed. We have reached out to all our corporate partners to extend the reach of the SIR to more students.
So if you have a teenager amongst your family, friends or acquaintances, bring them to the SIR and give them the opportunity to showcase their skills on a global platform! Register here.
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JA Roll of Honour
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Stories from JA Worldwide
JA South Africa Alumnus Transforms Learning and Passion Into Business Success
JA programs were not offered at Fulufhelo Miswe's school so he asked his friend, who served on the JA South Africa (JASA) Youth Council, to help him get involved.
Miswe first participated in the Mini-Enterprise Program (also known as the JA Company Program) and dedicated himself to the learning. His company sold bath foam packs and he took the initiative to both sell his stock, as well as some of his teammate's products, leading to a significant company profit and winning him the honor of 'Best Sales Person' for the program. Through Miswe's JA experience, he received the opportunity to operate a business in an incubator-type environment enabling him to make mistakes, learn from them, and use them in the pursuit of business success.
He is currently the owner of a fleet of taxis that operates in the township of Alexandra - the youngest person to ever join the association as an owner! Since joining, he has expanded his business and spread out his investments. He now owns property that he rents out in different areas of Alexandra and Riverpark. Additionally, he is currently working on two major proposals through which he hopes to create any jobs: to start a brick manufacturing company and a piggery.
"My ambition, drive, dedication, and passion stem from the great organization that is JASA," says Miswe.
JA Malaysia Student Presents Product at 4th Global Entrepreneurship Summit
 Successful and aspiring entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and researchers from all over the world converged at the Kuala Lampur Convention Center for the 4th Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2013 (GES).
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and United States' Secretary of State, John F. Kerry, enthusiastically listened to 16-year old Soon Chee Yen of SMK Seafield, present her mosquito repellant band innovation during the GES event.
Her idea, made from natural ingredients found across Malaysia, won her team the first runner-up prize at the 'Social Innovation Relay' in 2013. Chee Yen's product was highlighted as part of the Innovation Showcase Gallery during the GES and represented budding youth entrepreneurship in Malaysia
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Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. Do let us know what you think - please reach out to Sucharita Venkatesh with your queries, feedback and suggestions. We would love to hear from you!
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Sincerely,
The JA India Team
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