Hekani Jakhalu
Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | October 22
Founder and Chair, YouthNet, Hekani Jakhalu has won the prestigious ‘Prerna Award 2021’ conferred by Schneider Electric, a world leader in the digital transformation of energy management and automation. Schneider Electric is also ranked the world’s most sustainable corporation. The Prerna Award was instituted in the year 2015 and recognizes women entrepreneurs who have excelled in largely male dominated fields of work or have made atypical contribution towards the sustainable development of the country and have empowered other women in the process.
The other two recipients of the award include Kriti Bharti, founder of Saarthi Trust and Sonal Kapoor, founder of Protsahan. The three winners were selected after a rigorous assessment of the impactful work done by the nominees.
On receiving the Award, Hekani Jakhalu told The Morung Express in an exclusive interview that, “It is not me, it is not something that I did and it happened. It is team work over the past 15 years. I really feel that this Award is a celebration of 15 years of our work,” she expressed.
She went on to say that, “It is everyone who made YouthNet grow, focusing on the vision that our work will impact someone’s life.”
“We do not even know whose life it is going to be, but it does not matter, numbers also do not matter as long as we know that it is impacting someone’s life,” she added.
More than the money and the fund, she stressed that it is the network, connecting them to experts that she looks forward to.
The global Company had earlier given its assurance to support the organisations they have identified. “That also got me excited because it will be a good opportunity, and it is not just about funding but the technical support, which I am really looking forward to,” she put across.
In her acceptance speech, Hekani Jakhalu had also expressed that the Award “is a great motivation for our cause and it means a lot to me and to everyone at YouthNet.” Highlighting that they have been working on youth empowerment, employment and livelihood through intervention in the education sector, skill development and entrepreneurship programs especially focused on Made in Nagaland and Made in North East Initiatives in line with nationwide campaign on Made in India for a self-reliant country, she noted that, “We have been making significant impact by reaching out to over one lakh young people and especially as we turn 15 this year, this recognition is definitely a wonderful honour.”
“This 15-year journey has been a meaningful one but not without its share of challenges”, she also recalled. Even while working towards nurturing a generation towards positive, productive, responsible and contributing members of the society, she said, YouthNet, as an organization did not work for validation. “But recognitions such as this...we are humbled because we know the hard work that we have put in is all worth it,” she said.
She further noted that “large scale organisations like Schneider Electric pushing for sustainability and self-reliant really makes a difference in convincing our current business ecosystem to follow in the path in adopting energy efficient tools and practices and reduce carbon footprints all along the value chain system of the enterprise ecosystem.”
Pointing out that the greatest threat to the people and the planet is the belief that someone else will save it, in her message to all future lawyers, entrepreneurs and women, she expressed, “Let us not only focus in excelling in what we do but live with a purpose in life. Let us make it our personal responsibility to make a positive impact in someone’s life and our planet.”
“I thank all my amazing team who have been part of YouthNet in the past 15 years. This is your award as much as it is mine,” she further added in her acceptance speech.
