At the tender age of 6, seeds of empathy, compassion, and kindness were sown in Meera Mehta, a 21-year-old girl who recently received the UK’s Diana Award for her selfless service to mankind in times when the entire world is battling with the Coronavirus pandemic.
Meera Mehta works with the global non-profit Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care NGO. During COVID times, Meera became a COVID warrior. Under the NGO’s Emergency Relief care, Meera strived to successfully provide personal protective equipment and meals to frontline workers like the doctors, nurses, policemen, provided ration to migrant workers and the underprivileged. Meera also raised funds for this project. Her target is to raise Rs. 50,00,000 and so far she has succeeded in raising Rs. 45,00,000.
In recognition of her commendable service to mankind, she received the prestigious Diana Award. “It came as a complete surprise to me because the nomination process is such that only somebody who has worked with me can nominate me. I was obviously happy but I have never done this work for recognition. Moreover, since it was such a prestigious award, it added a lot more credibility to my work. Within a week of receiving the award, I was able to raise Rs.10,00,000”, said Meera when asked about how she felt after learning about her this achievement.
The Diana Award is the United Kingdom’s most renowned and prestigious award that recognizes the unique work done by young individuals. It is a charity award set up in memory of Princess Diana of Wales who firmly believed that young people have the ability to bring about massive changes in the world. Young people from the age of 9-25 are eligible to be awarded for their contribution to society and humanitarian work.
Meera dived into social work when she first accompanied her spiritual master Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai to a rural medical camp set up by Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care, in the economically and underdeveloped regions of Gujarat. “That was the first time I saw the plight that some people are forced to live in. Out there, Pujya Gurudevshri gave me gifts to give to the tribal children. Every time I’d give a gift, he’d tell me to say thank you. I was quite confused because I thought it should be the other way around. That’s when he explained that they are the ones giving me this wonderful opportunity to serve and that is why I should express my gratitude towards them. This was the first incident that fuelled the fire in my heart to continue volunteering with Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care and also fundraising for the same”, Meera shared.
When asked about who she would like to give credits to, for her achievements, Meera Mehta said that she is extremely grateful to her spiritual master, Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshbhai who opened her to the world of social work. Throughout her journey of helping the underprivileged, Meera has learned many valuable lessons of life and has become a better person along the path. Besides thoroughly enjoying fundraising, she says the best part is being able to interact with the beneficiaries and seeing the sweet smiles on their faces. Additionally, she says it has given her a sense of responsibility and made her more empathetic.
Meera is a perfect inspiration for us all as she is equally dedicated to excelling at her studies and chasing her dreams. She is currently pursuing her MBBS from MGM Medical College, Navi Mumbai. If you are thinking about how she juggles between all this, it’s no brainer. She invests her free time in fundraising and dedicates the rest of her time in studies. Since working for the well being of others is something she enjoys, she never gets tired of it. In the coming future, Meera dreams to volunteer at Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital, a free of cost multispeciality hospital in Dharampur Gujarat that caters to a population of 4 lakhs across 200 villages.
When asked to share one thing she learned during this journey of hers, she said, “In taking one small step to uplift others, we may not be able to change the whole world, but we will definitely be able to change someone’s whole world. Hence, any act of benevolence, no matter how small, will help uplift society. So do it!”.
