I believe that each and every United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal has affected all of us atleast once in our lives in some form. From poverty to climate change, we all have seen their relevance in our daily routine in some form or the other.
I personally feel that I resonate the most with quality education (SDG 4) and Good Health & Well Being (SDG 3).
Being a son of parents who both chose education despite of challenges faced from society and are now working professionals; along-with the fact that I am the first child in the prolonged family to ever attend university; I feel that quality education affects me every single day. Moreover, having been affected by Chikungunya (when I was child), having a dislocated (yet functioning) broken knee bone and having recovered from a dislocated & ill-sized Kidney; the aspect of healthy life and well-being also affects me every passing day.
Having said that, my long term goal in life is to promote education and health on a macro level, starting with my hometown (where my father grew up) by portraying myself as an example of what proper education and focus on health can do to an individual to achieve what is simply a dream for others. I would like to prove that my parent's efforts were worth it, and I am now (then) what they wish to be, and CAN BE.
Moreover, one of the likely barriers I will face while making the positive impact of education, health and well-being would be community-wide disregard of them as necessary elements in life. Being a farming-centric village, no one bothers to pursue higher education (and by higher education, I mean even 8th grade as college is still a far-fetched thing). Moreover, people also don't put much emphasis on health (as in proper intake of all vital supplements, by simply eating what they get) and well-being (as they don't consider mental health a thing or something to focus on). I believe that making them believe that these aspects matter and can drastically affect individuals in the long term, will be the greatest challenge I will have to overcome in order to make an impact.
In my life, I believe that I have already achieved the Sustainable Development Goals of quality education (SDG 4) and Good Health & Well Being (SDG 3) because my parents took care of them due the lack of them in their lives. Considering that, I aim to make sure I help others (starting with my hometown) to achieve these goals for sure.
Cheers,
Jay Gohil,
IBM Z Ambassador 2021