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These simple questions last year at this time would’ve elicited a totally different response from me. The reason is simple. I had not met 17 to 22-year-olds in batches of 12–15 every five weeks who were learning English, getting employment-related interviewing and life skills training as well as going to school (secondary and college). They are primarily from Delhi, India, though the recent batch has people from other parts of north India. All of them are from some of the poorest of urban areas and what they might lack materially, they make up with their ambitions and drive toward a better future.
Like them, 50 percent of Indians today are below the age of 25. The average age of an Indian in 2020 is 29. That’s out of 1.3 billion people. The math is simple. 650 million. Under 25. Almost, almost the total population of all of Europe .
They are a generation or less from rural India. They want to be — -well, the range is pretty wide — -from tour guides to cops to journalists, teachers, accountants to entrepreneurs to bank managers, doctors, air force pilots and fashion designers. They are also some of the poorest. The organization I work with, Freedom Employability Academy, gives them a scholarship for one year to study English and take online (MOOC) courses and guidance from counselors. The organization was started by Indians in the US and the…
