Chapter 01
A Window Into
Another World
Growing up in Mumbai, I could never ignore what I saw outside the car window — families sleeping on pavements, children begging at traffic lights, mothers shielding babies from the heat. I was born in Singapore, where such overt poverty was almost unheard of. In Mumbai, it stared directly at me.
As a ten-year-old, I felt helpless. My mother understood. She told me: "When you grow up, you will help them." And then she didn't wait — she took the lead, and together we took my first steps towards philanthropy.
Chapter 02
Showing Up
At ten, I began visiting the St. Catherine of Siena School for Destitute Children in Bandra. My first day felt like stepping into another planet. Children were running, laughing, shouting in Hindi, tugging at my shirt. I felt overwhelmed, out of place.
I stopped going for a few months. But something kept urging me back. On my second visit, the noise sounded a little less chaotic. Within a few months, we were building Lego houses, playing football and kho-kho, crowding around sketchbooks to draw. My voice grew hoarse training them for football.
Holidays brought Christmas fairs, housie games, Easter egg hunts, improvised table tennis on broken tables, and obstacle courses on hot afternoons. My schooling grew demanding. But they didn't just look forward to my visits — they depended on them. I felt a sense of responsibility I had never known before.
Chapter 03
₹1,000 Per Child
When my school announced the Gandhigiri Competition — a fundraiser supporting a cause of our choice — I chose the orphanage without hesitation. We launched the Angel Drive, aiming to raise ₹1,000 per child. There were 233 children.
I had no idea where to begin. But within a few days, I had raised ₹11,000. That taught me something I carry with me still: philanthropy isn't measured by scale. It's measured by intention.
Chapter 04
150 Meals a Day
Then the pandemic hit. India went into lockdown. Streets emptied, kitchens shut, and hunger surged. One thought consumed me — if accessing groceries was hard for our family, how were people living on the streets surviving?
We began cooking 150 meals a day. When our oven broke, a restaurant owner whose own business was failing stepped in and cooked for us daily. True empathy doesn't diminish under pressure. It compounds.
We secured permission to drive food through curfew zones. We sent snacks, books, and chocolate to the orphanage. Photos came back: smiling faces, food-smeared cheeks, plates scraped clean.
I refused to let lockdown cancel our traditions. I hosted virtual Christmas and Valentine's Day parties, arranging food deliveries, art activities, and games over an increasingly unstable Wi-Fi. Their laughter through pixelated screens felt like enough.
Chapter 05
Music Meets Mission
Around early 2021, I recorded a cover of "Heal the World" for school. It won a Secure Giving ad competition. I donated the proceeds to the Concern India Foundation — recognized through their #lightupalife campaign.
Singing had always been a personal pleasure. Now it became purposeful — a tool with which I could help others. The intersection of art and impact is where I've chosen to live.
Chapter 06
Infrastructure,
Not Charity
At fifteen, I moved to the American School of Bombay. Academic life was intense — but that quiet voice insisted I do more. To learn how to expand my impact sustainably, I joined the Giving Pi Young Philanthropist Program at Stanford PACS.
For two weeks, I studied India's social landscape — intersectionality, systemic inequality, climate resilience, adolescent empowerment. We visited NGOs in Dharavi, Teach for India classrooms, and women's empowerment centers. I presented research to leaders from Stanford and Dasra.
Chapter 07
Kindness Begins Close
In mid-2025, our housekeeper told me her son Anurag wanted to study 3D animation but couldn't afford tuition. I had money saved up. I offered to fund half his education.
That day, I learned that philanthropy often begins at home.
But a harder realization was forming. I would soon leave for university. What would happen to the children? I needed my philanthropy to outlive my physical presence in Mumbai.
Chapter 08
Built to Last
So I began building yahnkizilbash.com/doingmybit — launched February 2026. A platform to connect those who can help with those who need support, whether through time, skills, or funds.
The platform encourages stronger charities to support smaller ones, ensuring kindness moves forward — person to person, community to community. It is my way of ensuring no child stands alone when life has left them behind.
From a ten-year-old struggling to understand a language and a world so different from his own, to a young person building an ecosystem of kindness — I am still learning, still growing, still listening.