From Delhi to Goa: How Two Young Innovators Earned Their Place

Talent can emerge anywhere. This summer, Sonarika and Shami (names changed), two children from our Residential Programmes, proved it by earning their place in the Maker's Asylum Innovation Fellowship, a national programme bringing together young innovators from across India.

They were selected as makers based on their ideas, creativity and hard work, competing with talented young people from across the country. Their selection was a very proud moment for all of us at TARA!

About Maker's Asylum and the Fellowship

Maker's Asylum is India's first community makerspace, championing "learning by making": hands-on education in design, electronics, 3D printing and digital fabrication, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The Innovation Fellowship is its flagship programme for teenagers. Through scholarships, it opens the doors of the Innovation School to talented young people from underserved communities across India, ensuring that financial barriers do not stand in the way of creativity and opportunity. Fellows take part in online sessions before coming together for an immersive residential week in Goa, where they design and build prototypes addressing real social and environmental challenges.

Earning Their Place

Long before packing their bags, Sonarika and Shami had already put in weeks of work: sharing ideas, creating prototypes and testing their creativity to earn a place in the Fellowship. Their selection was a moment to celebrate at TARA.

Learning Before Building

Their journey began with a month of online sessions, where they explored design thinking, teamwork and digital fabrication tools such as 3D printing. Then, from 6 to 10 July, they travelled to Goa for an immersive residential fellowship, collaborating with young innovators from across the country.

For both of them, it was a world of firsts: a long train journey, days away from home, new faces and new places. Stepping into the unknown was not without its doubts.

"At first, I was scared," Sonarika admits. "I kept thinking, 'What if I don't understand anything? What if everyone else is better than me?' But once I got there, I became more comfortable, and with every new thing I learned, I became more confident."

And there was a lot to learn.

"What I enjoyed the most was learning to use power tools," she says. "We were taught how to cut wood safely and use different machines to build our ideas. We learned how to use a 3D printer, Arduino IDE, and how to build prototypes from our ideas. We also explored GitHub, where innovators from around the world share their projects and designs."

"During the fellowship, I learned soldering, coding, CAD, and 3D printing," Shami remembers. "I also made 10 new friends from different places."

Innovation with Purpose

Working in teams, the fellows transformed their ideas into real-world solutions.

Sonarika's team created EcoSort, a smart waste bin that uses sensors to separate dry and wet waste while indicating when the bin is full.

"Working with my team, I helped build the EcoSort," she says, "and seeing our idea come to life was an amazing feeling."

Shami's team created Weather Flower, an interactive environmental monitor that responds to humidity, temperature and air quality.

"At first, the wiring activity was quite complicated," Shami admits, "but our mentors guided us and helped. It was a wonderful experience, and I learned so many new things."

At the end of the week, both teams proudly presented their projects during a YouTube livestream. Beyond the presentation itself, the Fellowship gave them access to Maker's Asylum Fab Labs across India, fully equipped fabrication workshops where they can keep building their ideas, opening doors to continue creating and learning long after the programme ended.

Beyond the Workshop

A fellowship is not only about prototypes. It is also about shared meals, late evenings, new friendships and small discoveries that become lasting memories.

"It was one of the best experiences I've ever had," says Sonarika. "Everything felt so new, and it has become one of my favourite memories. The place where we stayed was really nice, and I loved spending time with everyone there."

"I loved the food, it was some kind of English food. I don't remember the name, but it was really tasty!" laughs Shami. "I also enjoyed staying at the guesthouse. We watched TV and played games on the laptop late night."

Before returning home, the group explored Goa's beaches and historic forts. For Sonarika and Shami, one moment stood above all others: seeing the sea for the very first time.

The sand under their feet, the sound of the waves and the vastness of the ocean turned something they had only ever seen in pictures into a real-life memory.

"When I stood by the sea for the first time, it felt like everything else disappeared," Sonarika remembers. "It was just me, the waves, and the sound of the ocean. I didn't want to come back. It was such a magical moment, and I know I'll remember it forever."

"One of my favourite memories was going to the beach. It felt magical!" says Shami. "I collected so many beautiful seashells and brought them home with me so I could always remember the trip."

By the end of the week, saying goodbye wasn't easy. The friendships they had built in just a few days had become one of the most meaningful parts of the journey.

Every Opportunity Shapes a Future

Sonarika and Shami returned to Delhi with new skills, new friendships and greater confidence.

We believe that opportunities like these do much more than teach technical skills. They encourage children to step outside their comfort zones, embrace new experiences, and discover strengths they never knew they had. They remind children that their ideas have value, that they can collaborate with peers from across the country, and that they belong in spaces where innovation thrives.

For Sonarika and Shami, the Maker's Asylum Innovation Fellowship was about much more than building prototypes.

It was about earning an opportunity through hard work.

It was about travelling beyond the familiar.

It was about standing before the sea for the very first time.

And it was about returning home with the confidence to dream even bigger.

Because every child deserves the opportunity to explore, innovate, and discover just how far they can go.

Our warm thanks to Maker's Asylum for welcoming Sonarika and Shami, and to our donors and partners who make opportunities like this possible.

Help more children discover their potential. Support TARA today.