Suyash Jain: Serving Selflessly Through the Summer Heat
Temperatures soared to new heights during the summer. Yet the construction labourer carried sacks of cement on his back, the ragpicker was looking for litter on the road, and watchmen were told to stay put in their cabins. They form integral cogs in a machine that sustains our lives.
What if the labourers stopped bringing cement, the guards stopped guarding us, and the ragpickers just let waste roam free across the road? Life would not move forward as we know it. Still, their presence is often cloaked by invisibility, slogging away in the sweltering sun—invisibility not in the physical sense, but an aversion to seeing things from their perspective.
Agra-based Suyash Jain wanted to change that. When most people got busy with their lives and installed fans, coolers, and ACs in their homes or workspaces, Suyash chipped in with small acts of kindness like offering sharbat to workers in the scorching heat.
During his college days, Suyash actively participated in student competitions from colleges across the country. This experience taught him the importance of helping and connecting with people. Most competitions struggle to get enough entrants, whereas students often remain clueless about such events. To tackle this problem, he started a platform called InstaKhoaJ where college clubs could list their competitions and students could enrol in them.
This venture would prove quintessential in his journey at Bijnis, which helps retailers purchase directly from factories. He initially started as a marketing intern and now leads the growth and marketing department of the organisation. His strong interest in marketing, building businesses, and experience from his InstaKhoJ days have helped in something pivotal. This dynamism has also shaped his social initiatives over the years.
COVID and Helping People in Need
During the first wave of COVID, thousands of people lost their livelihoods and homes. While waves of anxiety took over the country, he chose to act rather than be a silent observer. So, Suyash Jain, along with his colleague Rajat Agarwal, started the Covid-19 Free Jobs Forum to help people laid off during the pandemic.
A month into its foundation, they already had more than 8000 job seekers and over 400 active HR recruiters in their database. Eventually, 1200+ people were able to secure jobs, growing into a 30,000+ job seeker community towards the end.
During the second wave, Suyash was back in his hometown. Coming from a Jain family, his parents are strong believers in giving back to society, a desire displayed in his own actions.
He witnessed his parents distributing essentials to the needy people. He understood that daily wage workers, slum dwellers, and migrant workers were struggling to put food on the table. That’s when he started the Feeding Ones in Need Initiative on May 15, 2021.
Initially, he would purchase ration kits containing atta, rice, dal, sugar, salt, spices, tea powder, and oil for needy families. Each kit would last for approximately 10 -12 days for a family of four. In the early days, he poured his own money, but increasing demand meant the need to collect funds from the public, even starting fundraisers on Milaap. With the help of these funds, they secured rations for close to 1000 families, helping them sustain themselves.
His latest effort, the Summer Relief Seva Initiative, is not a one-time act of kindness but a consistent summer practice. Suyash has been regularly serving cold sharbat to guards, ragpickers, and especially construction workers who continue working under the open sun during peak heat hours, while also keeping water bowls and bajra on his rooftop & nearby areas for birds and refilling them through the day. For him, the real motivation comes from his parents, whose quiet habit of feeding birds, caring for animals, and helping workers shaped his idea of service. Suyash often says he is doing only 1% of what he has seen his parents do over the years, but the blessings and smiles of workers who remember him when he visits with sharbat keep him going. The initiative, in its simplest form, is about offering relief where there is heat, water where there is thirst, and dignity where people often go unseen.
When asked about lessons or advice, Suyash humbly stated that he was in no position to offer a mantra. However, he asserted that sometimes just getting started is the best way forward.
Many times, people get paralysed by analysis. We like to discuss, plan out, and chart everything to the last letter, but life doesn’t work that way, and eventually, where there is a will, a way is carved out. If setting up a big organisation feels like a challenging task, start by helping one person in your immediate circle who really needs it.