Teenage mobile & web service developer
Who is Naayaa Mehta?
Naayaa Mehta is a grade 9 student at the Shri Ram School, taking classes at the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) More importantly, she was an army officer’s child. As such, she moved pretty often. “It was a daunting task being the ‘new girl’, having to make friends all over again, and go through the process of settling down in a new environment every few years. I was bullied at every school I went to.” One should never listen to the mean words of mean people, but it was still difficult for her to deal with. She admits her grades dropping, her confidence faltering, and her ability to be social dwindling. Four years ago, she came up with the social initiative Enough!
“Enough is an anonymous concern-reporting system for all types of concerns that students, parents or teachers, victims or bystanders might have such as bullying, substance abuse, depression, violent tendencies or behavioral changes, to name a few,” Naaya explains. It uses an anonymous reporting system and a personal security band. They also included an audio recording, the 120 decibel alarm, LED lights, and a hypo-allergenic rubber with child suitable straps to house the system. As of now, Naaya is applying for a patent for her product. She has spoken to corporates, educators, and also children from over 30 different schools across the country. “There is no age limit for being an entrepreneur, and if one has ideas and solutions that may help someone, sky’s the limit for where you can.”
“I had low self-esteem due to multiple bullying incidents and YEA! equipped me with the skills and the confidence to walk into any field of life and feel like I can dream big and come out on top. This gift of self-confidence has been priceless for me and I hope I can inspire this confidence in many other victims like me through my venture,” Naaya says.
3 Things We Love About Naayaa Mehta:
- Naaya is based in Delhi!
- Naaya is also leading a campaign to support women in rural areas with water wheels!
- Naaya credits the Cambridge curriculum for teaching her the important skills necessary to make her dreams a reality.
Work Cited
Our budding entrepreneurs in India
How two teenagers are tackling bullying head-on with their social initiatives