Curated Questions: Conversations Celebrating the Power of Questions! Shreyaa & Esha Venkat
Shreyaa Venkat and Esha Venkat were inspired by their parents model of serving those in need, and founded the non-profit NEST4US, that is N.E.S.T Numeral 4 U.S., as a philanthropic platform built upon kindness, generosity, and social good. With the mission of making the world better through kindness by mobilizing volunteers worldwide to advance progress on societal issues and spark equitable solutions for the greater good. Their work has received significant recognition, including the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Award in 2020, which was co-chaired by all four living former presidents. Their year-end 2023 numbers include 7,000 volunteers, 85,000 blessing bags, and over $4.2M of meals donated across 30 countries and six continents.
The stats are impressive; what makes this nearly insane is this sibling effort started when they were ages 13 and 10.
Shreyaa is now 22 years old, the CEO of NEST4US, and a Global Health accelerated master's student at Georgetown University. She is pursuing a career in health policy, combining her passions for health equity, climate advocacy, and volunteerism to aid marginalized communities worldwide.
Esha is 19 years old, the COO of NEST4US, and is at Georgia Institute of Technology majoring in Public Policy with a minor in Global Development. Over the past decade, she has contributed over 7000 hours of service, engaging people through a wide array of global service campaigns.
The sisters discuss the challenges they faced as young activists, the importance of asking questions, and their efforts to expand the nonprofit's impact both locally and globally. The conversation also touches on their personal development, the significance of self-care, and how community service has shaped their lives. Shreyaa and Esha emphasize the importance of involving young people in sustainable development and the power of simple acts of kindness. The episode encourages listeners to consider how they can make a difference in their communities and impact the world positively. Listen in for lots of questions!
This Curated Questions episode can be found on all major platforms and at CuratedQuestions.com.
Keep questioning!
Episode Notes
[00:48] Meet Shreya and Isha Venkat
[03:27] The Power of Questions
[05:37] Travel and Cultural Awareness
[08:04] Adapting Service to Local Needs
[19:05] Early Beginnings of NEST4US
[23:42] Expanding Programs and Community Impact
[40:02] Creating a Bond Through Music
[41:26] Engaging Volunteers Beyond Service Hours
[42:55] Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Impact
[47:35] Adapting to Virtual Platforms During COVID
[52:18] Expanding Internationally and Embracing Community
[53:55] Aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goals
[01:00:54] Challenges and Growth in Social Impact Work
[01:12:20] Reflecting and Adapting for Future Impact
[01:17:03] Navigating Challenges and Saying No
[01:18:29] Aligning with United Nations SDGs and Managing Programs
[01:19:47] Seizing Opportunities and Mentorship
[01:29:48] Current Questions and Future Plans
[01:34:22] The Role of Martial Arts in Leadership
[01:39:45] The Importance of Self-Care
[01:45:08] Encouraging Community Involvement
Resources Mentioned
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Questions Asked
When did you first understand the power of questions?
Are we there yet?
Travel, what, does that look like for you?
How, how had questions been a part of travel?
Where were some of the places that you went to?
How did questions inform some of your experience, either preparation wise or while you were there?
How can we bring the ideas and the magic of NEST4US to this country?
How can we be able to connect and collaborate with similar organizations that exist globally?
What are the questions that you think about in those three buckets for that particular location to engage with the local communities?
How can I bring nest for us to Tanzania in a way that fits the Tanzanian context?
Who are we working with?
Who are we supporting?
What are the needs as said by them?
How do we also remain culturally conscious
How can we best listen and learn to the community members there, in order to create the best change possible and a change that really fits well in the context of the country itself?
Being aware of targeting or serving the local need, and then listening to what that actual need is, was that learned through mistake?
Did you get voices early on in your process of getting things going where you heard that and that became a part of, your work?
What is happening?
What is the mission?
What is the values of the specific organization, group, individual that is doing whatever work that is in that community?
What are common bad assumptions folks make?
What questions did you consider as you were standing things up as you're developing NEST4US?
How can we bring this kind of joy, this kind of passion in a space where other friends, other families and other friends can come together and enjoy it as much as we do?
How do we involve young people, families, and different groups of people in a way that allows them to impact the community in a way that they're passionate about?
How do we get people to join us?
How do we get our volunteers?
How do we get people to believe in our mission and help out at all of our events?
How do we scale?
How do we get more people involved?
Am I really making a difference?
Is this really having an impact?
Why don't we have the opportunity?
What are the questions that you work through as you evaluate adding more of these opportunities or categories?
What is the problem?
What are the things impacting the problem?
Why is this a gap in our community?
How can we, who are the people behind the work that's going to be done?
What are the challenges and barriers that you might face when you try to work with different people, bring different people together?
How can we prepare for that in a way that is equitable, that's fair, and that's not harming anyone in any way?
What does success look like?
How do we measure that?
How do we see it?
How do we notice it?
How do we document it?
How do we replicate it in the future?
What are some things similar that we've done in the past?
What works or what was some feedback that we thought would might be different?
What song do you want to add to the playlist?
Are there any questions you use to engage volunteers when they're coming in?
Which of these projects are you really feeling like engaging in today?
What do you think about this?
Is this something you're interested in?
How is it different between the in person events versus events that are literally spanning the globe?
What are some of the questions that really resonate with you as you look at these goals?
How do we bring this to the local level that we were working on
What is the role of youth in accelerating progress for the [United Nations] Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
How can we engage as many people as possible?
How do we harness that power of community to really drive about change and also advance those goals that we have of youth leadership and giving people that opportunity to play a role in something that they've clearly are passionate about?
Who are we to stop that?
How has it been for you in engaging with these leaders from all over the place?
Are there any particular questions that you think are not being asked or do not get the attention that it deserves?
What is the role of young people in sustainable development?
We need young people, but how?
What is meaningful youth engagement?
What does 'meaningful' mean?
How do we balance addressing urgent needs, like right now, short term needs with building that sustainable long term solutions that we need?
Are you just stumbling, fumbling, trying to figure your way through that?
What does that look like for you?
Is this making an impact?
What's going well?
What are people telling us?
What do we need to edit?
What do we need to change?
What do we need to keep the same
How do we ensure that we're still helping and staying true to that mission?
What does it look like for you to say no?
How do you keep those aligned with the UN SDGs without overstretching our bandwidths as individuals or our volunteers, or settling with just limited surface level engagement?
What if we did this and it worked out?
What if we did this and it didn't work out?
What can we get out of this opportunity?
How can we support others?
How can we continue to uplift the messages that we are trying to share through NEST4US?
Why can't both things be true?
What do you think is often misunderstood about those in need?
What is your right now question?
How can I be the bridge between grassroots work and the policy realm in order to maximize impact in the most equitable and cost effective way?
How can we take these words and these questions and turn them into answers that is done in a formalized way?
How can we take those policies and make sure they're being translated properly on the ground in order to ensure that everyone has the opportunity and access and quality services that they need most?
What is that transition going to look like?
How we can bring, that magic of NEST4US to campus?
Are there going to be new projects that we're thinking about implementing or old projects that we want to boost up?
What has earning black belts taught you?
Do you guys ever sleep?
What are my priorities at this moment?
Is this something I should really be pouring my energy into?
Are these the people that I want to pour my energy into?
How can we be like that?
How can I take this forward in a way that works for me, that works for the community, and that benefits the greatest amount of people?
What can we do today to make the world better in the future?
What is that one action or that those actions that we can take to actually make a difference in the world?
What if all 8 billion of us in the world did one kind act every single day?
What if everybody in the world helped just that one person?
How do we encourage others to ask better questions themselves?
How do we encourage each other to then take action after asking themselves these questions?
How do I get involved?