CURRENT FELLOWS
Akhilesh
Problem Statement : Mental Health of first time offenders
Project - Baat Cheet
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Intervention: Peer to Peer model to support first time offenders
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Akhilesh Bharti comes from a part of society where patriarchy is embeded in children from a young age. He has spent most of COVID-19 in prison, away from his family. He was incarcerated over an altercation. During his time in prison, he mentions the thing he valued the most was his family, especially his mother. “When one is in isolation, they realise how much they take for granted and how easy things and provided to you, your world turns upside down and you realise how hard women work towards living anywhere close to how men do." Ever since he was released, he has been looking for ways to reduce patriarchy in society and especially young men.
Shubra
Problem Statement: Alternatives to imprisonment -
Project - Nazariya
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Intervention: Tech platform for prisoner families in the pre trial process
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Shubhra is a Political Science postgraduate from Delhi University who is deeply interested in exploring the connections between justice, community and healing. They are a keen observer who like to engage with the world critically. They love free-flowing conversations that bring with them strange yet colorful ideas. Things that give them most joy are unwinding sessions with their guitar, comfort food, and writing.Amit is a Class 12th graduate and has extensive experience in taking tuitions before coming to prison. He was charged under IPC 376A and POCSO and was introduced to Eleena during the fellowship. He partook in taking classes due to his previous teaching background.
Sakshi
Problem Statement : Status of Women Prisons in India
Project - The Circles
Intervention: Trauma Profiling in Women Prisons
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She is presently pursuing PhD in criminology and victimology and has always been interested in how the criminal justice system works. She has some expertise working with inmates and children who are in conflict with law, as well as having undergone experiential learning at various organisations. She enjoys exploring new domains and is enthusiastic about challenging societal norms.
Satwika
Problem Statement : Prison Budgeting
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Project -
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Intervention: Participatory Budgeting through storytelling advocacy
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She is a graduate in Architecture and pursuing her masters in Psychology. She is passionate about behaviour and their relation with the environment. She is particularly drawn towards areas that have problems, as problem solving is her strength. She has worked as an Architect for the past six years. In her professional career, she has worked in earthquake prone areas doing post-earthquake reconstruction work and promoted sustainable technologies. She has also worked on a Slum rehabilitation project with a unique idea of a participatory design process.
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Prakash
Problem Statement : lack of structured education programs
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Project - Betterlife Prison School
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Intervention: Betterlife Prison school - a full day long model school in the prison
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With his roots in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Prakash is a long-time Delhi resident who worked with TYCIA to implement projects targeted at improving the lives of Delhi's urban migrant population. Prakash has impressive repertoire of on-ground experience with projects connected to youth, sanitation, and health. Prakash has one teenage son and in his free time, he enjoys acting in street-plays.
Priyanka Upadhya
Problem Statement : High Recidivism rate in specific crimes
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Project - Unlearn
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Intervention: Partnering with Gangs for rehabilitation of youth
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Priyanka Upadhyay has a Master’s in Social Work from IGNOU and has extensive work experience in the social sector. She has worked with renowned organizations like Pratham Education Foundation, Room to Read, and TYCIA Foundation. She describes herself as someone who is focused and always has control of herself, on her emotions, and her feelings. She is a caring person who respects others' opinions and takes decisions very carefully. Her critical and practical thinking helps her the most and she does mediation for her internal peace by creating a balance between her heart and mind.
Avneesh
Peer fellow
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Avneesh was incarcerated in 2017 and served a jail time of 5 years on trial. during the time spent in prison, he recollects he had a hard time coping with the violence he had to endure in different aspects, be it during isolation within himself or with other inmates. During lunches, breaks and other times he faced a lot of bullying and confrontations.
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He feels he has lost 5 crucial years of his life due to misfortunate circumstances. Ever since he has been released from prison, he has been working tirelessly to prove himself worthy in society and stepped up to the occasion to give back and help support others like himself.
Jayant
Peer Fellow
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Jayant Kumar lives in Delhi with his family. He grew up with an elder sister and raised by his mother. Something he lacked while growing up was the guidance of a father figure. Growing up with a limited means to an end meant that he was in a constant state of mental struggle. To calm this struggle, he found a gateway through substance abuse.
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Jayant spent 6 months and 21 days in prison due to an altercation. He was released in 2018 and since then he has been working in multiple avenues to help support his family and is also pursuing his Bachelors in Arts from IGNOU university .
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Rahul
Peer Fellow
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Rahul Singh is born and brought up in Delhi with roots from Agra has served a term on one and half years in prison. During his time serving his sentence, he was also a peer with Project Unlearn from within the prison.
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After being released, he has continued to volunteer with TYCIA Foundation on multiple occasions and have been a part of projects during COVID-19 relief in 2021. Since his release he has been a strong advocate for gender based violence against women and has wanted to be a part of Unlearn fellowship since his release.
PAST FELLOWS
Tabish and Vikram
Focusing on the Reintegration of inmates, Tabish is a Human Resource Graduate and is continuing his SCF for year 2 as well, Tabish is working on a statistical study on the post-release life of inmates and is creating a standard operating booklet for reintegration.
Vikram is a Class 12th graduate, who spent two years in Tihar and was charged under Section 376 was a part of the Second Chance Fellowship.
Eleena and Amit
Focusing on the Reformation of inmates, Eleena joined the first cohort of SCF is continuing her fellowship for year 2, she took more than 600 sessions in prison till now, Eleena co-founded 'Project Unlearn' in her fellowship term.
Amit is a Class 12th graduate and has extensive experience in taking tuitions before coming to prison. He was charged under IPC 376A and POCSO and was introduced to Eleena during the fellowship. He partook in taking classes due to his previous teaching background.
Gauri and Rahul
Focusing on the Rehabilitation of inmates, Gauri completed her Ph.D. in Prison Reformation and joined the second cohort of SCF, Gauri is creating a helpline to support released prisoners called 'Kunji' in her fellowship term.
Rahul is a Class 12th graduate and helped in co-creating project Kunji with through the ideation and facilitation phase
Tod Etheredge
Focusing on Re-integration of inmates, Tod joined as the AIF Clinton Fellow and became part of the first cohort of SCF, Tod worked on creating 'Post Release Support Manual' in his fellowship term.
Vedant Dev Sharma
Youngest of all, Vedant is a psychology graduate with legal aid support as interest area.He is working on 'Bail Support Program' in his tenure of Second Chance Fellowship .
Harneet Singh
A fashion management graduate Harneet made a switch from her corporate life in Bangladesh to SCF, she worked intensively on setting up Betterlife Prison School and worked on creating SOP for it..