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Ever heard of Jambay Gyaltsen Chetan? Probably not. Well, after today, you will not be able to forget this name. This is the heartwarming story of a young gentleman from Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh who has been giving badminton lessons -- for free -- to scores of underprivileged children at Defence Colony in Delhi since 2013.
We live in a highly materialistic world in which we hardly have time for ourselves, let alone others. Jambay Gyaltsen Chetan, however, ensures he takes out time every single day to teach badminton to the children of domestic workers, drivers, and security guards in Defence Colony.
This young man from Northeast India has become a local hero for his selfless, tireless service to the society, and he continues to work towards this beautiful initiative day in day out.
Chetan has followed the footsteps of many celebrated philanthropists around the world. It is heartwarming to know that nearly 80% of the children, mostly below the age of 15, trained by him are girls. The initiative has helped many of the children win medals and trophies at Inter-School and Inter-Zonal competitions.
Jambay, from a modest background himself, goes out of his way to provide necessary sporting equipment such as badminton rackets to these children as they are not in a position to afford it themselves. Initially, a few of his friends were also a part of the initiative but now, he single-handedly coaches around 40 children every day between 5 pm to 8 pm at the Swapna Vatika Park in C-Block, Defence Colony.
His hard work has started paying off and many of the C-Block residents in the vicinity of the park have come out in Chetan's support. Few of his supporters include chartered accountants, businessmen, doctors, and even politicians. Quite a few families help the youngster in whatever way they so that he can carry on the good work.
The sad truth of society is that underprivileged children are often neglected by their parents/guardians as they are too busy with their domestic jobs in order to earn a meagre income and ensure that there is at least some food that is sufficient for the sustenance of the family. More often than not, these children fall prey to poor company and tread down the wrong path.
This excellent sports initiative by Chetan, however, has acted as a medium to channel the energy of the children into something constructive and also given them a purpose in their life.
Chetan says,
"When you really want to do something, you somehow find the time. This programme has become a purpose for me. It gives me satisfaction. It gives me meaning to my life. That's the reason I am still continuing."
The kind Arunachal native, who sometimes has to make personal sacrifices to ensure that the training goes on smoothly even on weekends, adds:
"I know I am doing something for the others' benefit. So, I have no regrets for that (letting go of any personal plans)."
In addition to badminton training, Chetan also strives to help the children with their overall personality development through communication classes and general knowledge studies during the weekend.
For the underprivileged children, Jambay is no less than a godsend.
In one of the latest developments, Japanese giant Yonex has joined hands with Chetan for continuing the good service. As per a deal between them, a pilot project by the name of Yonex Sunrise Sports has kickstarted that will be fully sponsoring four of Chetan's top-performing students for their advance coaching at Bisht Academy Siri Fort. It would not be surprising to see these children soon becoming some of Delhi's best players with the eventual aim of representing the country.
As long as he is able and fit, Chetan hopes to continue to train underprivileged children and empower them so that they can lead a disciplined life. His selflessness is sure to inspire hundreds of others to contribute to the welfare of the society. Chetan's story is a classic example of how an individual initiative soon turned into a community movement.
