Twenty-two-year-old, Aravinda Moonsammy has been using his writing skills to address social issues which are affecting young people.
The young blogger created his social media page, “Arvin’s blog” to spread awareness about social issues and social ills.

“I also created it to help Guyanese youth attain a state of wellbeing in which they can realise their own potential… my personal experience with domestic violence inspired me to become an advocate for domestic violence,” said Moonsammy.

His mission is to create more awareness through education and helping persons to recognise the early signs of domestic violence.

From a tender age, Moonsammy observed cases of domestic violence and that allowed him to stand tall and address the social ill.

“Domestic violence is a very real issue that affects one in three women in Guyana, according to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence. Because of my passion for the topic, I created my own NGO in Guyana called The Purple Rose Foundation,” said Moonsammy.

Along with the assistance of eight young people, Moonsammy is putting in the work so that the foundation could be officially launched in December.

“This was something i always wanted to do and finally it’s happening… the NGO’s mission is to rebuild a strong foundation of values for our young people and future generations where violence is replaced with responsible communication and human dignity,” he said.
He intends to continue building resilience through advocacy, community education, public policy, technical assistance and training, and resource sharing and research.

He said the foundation will offer support services, education, advocacy and leadership, all to shape a violence-free future for families across Guyana.
Moonsammy’s passion for volunteering stemmed from networking and interacting with professional organisations. Through those organisations he worked with his peers to address common issues.

He has been working closely with Rotaract New Amsterdam. In 2018 he had the opportunity to represent the club as the 2018-2019 Community Service Director. He has been able to execute over fifteen community service projects throughout the Region.
The young advocate was awarded best community service projects award from Rotaract for serving as the Community Service Director.

“As I continue my journey I want to break stereotypes and I want to go where no man or woman has gone before and it might be a scary path, and it might be a path that no one takes, but at least it’ll be just me,” said an enthusiastic Moonsammy.

He has been empowering himself through education. The young advocate studied at the Nations University and also with the Oxford Home Study College.

Although his schedule seems to be very packed, the young advocate said he has space to follow his dream of becoming a flight attendant one day.
When asked what keeps him going, Moonsammy said his family is biggest source of motivation and inspiration.

His advice for persons with similar aspirations was to swap any negative thoughts with positive ones and stay focused on the present.

“Don’t let negative things from the past affect your present-day happiness. Whatever occurred in the past cannot be altered and you should let it go and move on. Negative experiences and emotions are part of human experience. It is good to accept them and learn from them,” said Moonsammy