Currently pursuing a master's in Sociology, 23 year old Lokesh belongs to Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Since 2006, he has been associated with 'Seva Mandir' at the local level and working on issues such as youth development and child rights. Located on the Gujarat border, Lokesh's village witnessed large scale in migration of people running away from the Gujrat genocide in 2002, the situation left a deep impression on him and he became part of the OXFAM initiative of 'Stop violence Enhance peace'.

Sharp concern for his sociopolitical context has made Kathi a journalist and environmentalist and development has pushed him towards farming. Coming from Atoizu in Nagaland, 28 year old Kathi Chishi is currently pursuing post graduation in sustainable development through correspondence. While pursuing his graduation at Delhi University he was active in student politics. Kathi was associated with the Consortium of Indian Farmers as a journalist.

26 year old Ismail has grown up in the Jogeshwari pocket of Mumbai. As a young man he has witnessed discrimination patterns especially after the 92 riots and wants to work against the potential threats for other youth. Ismail has had the responsibility of earning through petty jobs to support his family and his own education since middle school. His exposure to youth mobilisation initiatives of YUVA gave him a sense of purpose and he strongly believes that change can only come with effort.

With his father who works on various social issues as his biggest influence, Ravindra decided quite early on to devote himself to grassroots work. He joined the Swadeshi and Swaraj campaigns after completing high school from Bhopal in 2001. Later he worked with various organizations in a number of villages on various issues of development. Ravindra believes that people are inherently good and well meaning. They just need some guidance and capacity building for pursuing the correct action.

Journey Period: May 2008 - April 2009

Several experiences in conflict in her life and her neighborhood made Mamta decide to work for social change at one point in her life. Till now, she has been working as a village coordinator for Seva Mandir in Rajasthan.

Journey Period: May 2008 - October 2009

Having completed his B. Sc. from Bhopal in 2006, Krishna has been working in the Bhimapur development block of Betul, which is primarily a tribal area. His work areas include developmental issues like the working of Panchayats, establishment of grain banks and self help groups in villages besides awareness building about the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA). He has also been involved in the Tara Akshar computer literacy program for women.

Journey Period: May 2008 - April 2009

Ankit has a Post Graduate degree in Arts and is based in a village in Gujarat. Between 2005-2007, Ankit engaged with Manav Kalyan Trust, Khedbrahma as a field worker. His subsequent training in conflict resolution under OXFAM’s Urja Ghar Project helped him take a stance against corruption and look for solutions. Prior to joining LLJ, Ankit had informally started his work to mobilize youth and engage them in awareness building, and other village development activities.

Journey Period: May 2008 - June 2010

An engineer from IIT, Kanpur, Akshaya quit the corporate sector last year. He has been traveling to various parts of the country to get a feel of the geographical, social or economic challenges people face, discussing various problems of society regularly with others and has been reading extensively and regularly.

Journey Period: May 2008 - April 2009

Lokesh belongs to a farming family in Udaipur district of Rajasthan. His village suffered much during the Gujarat genocide in 2002, being located near the Gujrat border, and this left a deep impression on Lokesh. Subsequently he started looking for ways and spaces to understand and engage with the post- genocide situation. He became part of the OXFAM initiative titled 'Stop violence Enhance Peace' which consolidated through the setting up of a youth resource centre in his village called Urja Ghar.

26 year old Ismail has grown up in the Jogeshwari pocket of Mumbai. As a young man he has witnessed discrimination patterns especially after the 92 riots and wants to work against the potential threats for other youth. Ismail has had the responsibility of earning through petty jobs to support his family and his own education since middle school. His exposure to youth mobilisation initiatives of YUVA gave him a sense of purpose and he strongly believes that change can only come with effort.