Rakshya Pandit typifies everything about what Generation Amazing is supposed to achieve.
From the second she was picked to become involved with the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s (SC) flagship CSR programme, the young Nepalese girl has never looked back.
Last Saturday she addressed her entire community as, alongside strategic partner Right to Play and delivery partner Mercy Corps, the SC opened a new football pitch in her village of Bhandardhik.
As young children ran about the newly inaugurated field, 18-year-old Rakshya spoke about what Generation Amazing had already helped her achieve – and what she wanted it to achieve in the future.
She said: “I am grateful that the community, my school and my parents all supported me in this adventure. I didn’t really know what it was but I felt it was something I really wanted to get involved in. I have always wanted to travel and see different places.
“When I got the chance to go to Qatar and Brazil I was so happy. It was all new and exciting. I experienced things on those trips that will stay with me forever.
“It was the first time I have travelled abroad so it was very exciting to be able to go to Qatar and Brazil. I went to Doha first where we undertook football training sessions, and then we went Sao Paulo for the World Cup. It was incredible.”
Rakshya has already achieved so much within her community, including organising quizzes and football competitions for local schools, leading a Community Technical Group that solves educational issues and offering support on career development.
When Nepal was devastated by the 2015 earthquake, Rakshya was one of the many who helped re-build communities that suffered as a result of the terrible disaster. As one of many Generation Amazing ambassadors, she is an inspiration for other children in the community who look at what she has achieved and want to follow in her footsteps.
She wasted no time in trying to change the lives of the kids in her community. Instead of simply accepting something was out of reach, she used the leadership skills acquired during Generation Amazing to achieve what may have seemed like the impossible.
Rakshya added: “I got to meet other ambassadors who can use football as a tool to talk to their peers and friends. We have all used the Brazil experience and the learning about football for development, as a way to build skills, lead and communicate on important issues for ourselves and our communities.
“Since then my friends and I have learnt many life skills, making us better prepared for life. This pitch is exciting for us as we can show more people how football for development can enhance lives.”
The pride seen in Rakshya’s eyes as she stood on the same stage as her country’s vice president, Nanda Bahadur Pun, and community leaders at the GA Pitch launch in Kaski told its own story.
Her presence beside the Vice President and SC assistant secretary general Nasser al-Khater was symbolic for a young girl destined to achieve great things in whatever she chooses to do.
The point she makes with the most passion is that whatever career path she decides to follow, she will get to make it because of the help and inspiration from Generation Amazing.
She said: “It’s difficult to fully explain how important this experience has been for me.
“As a child, I learned English before I could speak Nepalese. I think my mother wanted me to learn as early as I could so she always spoke to me in English. She was incredible. My family have always been there for me and encouraged me.
“Getting involved in Generation Amazing and learning about the Supreme Committee has been just as important for me. There are two reasons I am where I am today – because of my family and because of the Supreme Committee.”
“What did Generation Amazing teach me? It taught me that we all have a leader inside of us. We can all be leaders.
“We don’t have to wait for someone to tell us how to do that or what to do or even what to be. If we want to achieve something then it is up to that person to make it happen. And I believe we all have the ability to make it happen.”
With six years to go, Rakshya will just have turned 24 when the 2022 FIFA World Cup comes to Qatar. Considering what she has achieved in two years, the sky seems to be the limit for a young girl who refuses to let the obstacles in front of her stop her from achieving her goals.
And as the first World Cup in the Middle East – and only the second in Asia – approaches, where does she see herself?
“I don’t know where I will be in six years’ time,” she said. “Maybe I will be helping with the World Cup, who knows? I really want to study, go to university and learn more.
“In Nepal we get one book, one subject and that’s what we are given to learn. People should be free to choose their own path and learn what they want to learn. Being involved with Generation Amazing has helped me find that path.
“It’s true that football has power. It has power to open people’s eyes and give them opportunities. Everyone involved in Generation Amazing is proof of that.”
 (SC.qa)