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2018-19

From Rag Picking to Teaching

Dev’s outlook to life changed the day he accompanied Chandini in the year 2016 to RKGF where she was being awarded for her work in the upliftment of slum children. It’s at Rex Karmaveer Global fellowship and awards that one more Hero was born and inspired to follow his heart and passion to open up his own organisation and unfurl his heroic potential to inspire, motivate and build a platform he called “Voice of Slum”.

Today Dev Pratap Singh is the President of this NGO.

He attributes his success to unleash this Heroic potential, courage and inspiration to be the voice of the lesser privileged to the three days spent at Rex Conclive where he brainstormed with other fellows and ignited his fire that was already simmering to roar with in him. The fire in his belly was to help him to take forward his work with dignity, grace and integrity and attain success with his hardwork and struggle.

REX Karamveer platform not only unleashes the Heroic potential of its chosen awardees and fellows but it causes a ripple effect and an impact that can be felt in the heroic and inspirational work of HEROS Like DEV.

RKGF is a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and a place where people kindle their inner fires and share their stories in the warmth of them. It’s a conclive that brings out and inspires more heroes by inculcating a sense of responsibility to fulfill fundamental duties as citizens like in the case of DEV and many more.

“Fellows handhold and help each other and all around them to soar and inspire more”

As Chandini and Dev say,”We were born in a slum but the slums do not dwell within us”

Dev is the representative and voice of “Voice of Slum “. He knows the true vagaries and realities along with struggles of living in a slum. He has been one who has known and lived the struggles of a slum dweller and done many an odd job on streets such as rag picking, so he feels the pain and pulse of people he aspires to uplift.

The aim and Vision of’ Voice of Slums” is to provide slum children a platform where they can see their future amongst the mainstream society and develop skills and mind-set shift through support and lead a happy dignified life.

Dev had a tough childhood and he could not take the abuse from his father so at the nimble age of 11 he ran away from home and he calls this his strength as he knew he had to change something in his life to better his future. Life was tumultous even after leaving home, as he lived on railway stations for several days, got arrested and was in juvenile jail for a fortnight till he managed to leave all that behind.

He had made up his mind that he may be born in the slum, to be just another slum dweller, ragpicker and a beggar, but he wont live that life and made up his mind to fight for a better life. He was very diligent and focused to earn respectable and sustainable living. In order to fulfill that Dev travelled to Goa and started working as a waiter in the restaurant of a stranger he accidentally met there.
He came back to Delhi after few years and tried to open a mobile repairing shop with the savings he had earned in Goa. But unfortunately, he could not achieve his dream due to his mother’s untimely death in an accident.
He went into depression, but the fighter in him did not give in or give up and he finally managed to join a company as a salesperson. Even though he was earning enough to live comfortably, his heart was not happy.

During this time Dev met Chandni who had a similar background as him, and her mission and a vision to help slum children get a better life inspired him tremendously and “Voice of Slum’’ the NGO was born.
Dev is the Editor of their Slum Post magazine, He has been an inspirational speaker at TEDx, Joshtalks, the August Fest, “Media Festival”, “Thapar University” & speaker at “Punjab University, Patiala” etc.

In the words of Chandini who is a REX Karmaveer Fellow and an inspiration to Dev and many more says,”Since we ourselves have gone through the pain and struggle of slums, therefore, we want to bring out the other children of slums from there and give them a life of dignity”.

The tireless efforts of Dev and Chandini have gone into launching an organisation where they provide education and skill development to many children.

Achievements of Voice of Slum

100 Slum Children Admitted to mainstream education

53 teenagers Skilled for various jobs

Empowered 450+kids via 100+ Balsabhas

Counseled and engaged more than 300 Families

Empowered differently abled children

Voice of Slum has rescued 5 girls from hell-like situations and now they are independent and settled.

Instrumental in supporting 2 children in dire medical situations and they are under-going treatment.

Dream & Mission

Aspires to open a school for 500 slum children.

Provide one time nutritional meal to the children in their school.

To sustain the existing initiative where 250 children are being prepared to get them admission in mainstream schools with facility of teachers, stationery and books etc.

Reach out to 100000 (one lakh) children of slums through our initiatives and make them independent in respectable profession and uplift their family conditions.