It's wonderful to be able to bring you this 2nd episode recorded during the Teach for All Social Entrepreneurs gathering in South Africa, on my Birthday no less!

Jacob shares his experience on the Teach for America programme in a black majority school in Brooklyn, here high poverty levels meant over 95% were on free or reduced cost lunches. He witnessed how rigid discipline policies and top-down control stripped black students of their autonomy. Resolute in his ambition to bring his students an education where they could harness their potential rather than be hindered, Jacob was a disruptor. He challenged the norm by breaking convention and implementing his own methods and ideas for education, despite them not being aligned with the school's rules. Jacob leans into vulnerability to unpack how the strong identity he built as a bi-racial person, gave him the strength of courage to stand by his values and beliefs to be an exemplary teacher, centred in positive disruption.

As a positive disruptor, Jacob has founded Inner Spark Learning Lab where black and brown students have the opportunity to be involved in hands-on, community-driven learning projects designed to foster critical thinking, self-awareness, and social impact. Utilising an holistic approach that integrates STEAM `Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics, Inner Spark Learning Lab has grown to annually serve over 1,500 youth through their direct service programs. They have over 30,000 beneficiaries through their curriculum and professional development programs, igniting a ripple effect that extends to schools, families and communities across California. Jacob is recognised as an inspirational leader, having been honoured with multiple fellowships including from 4.0 Schools, Black Equity Collective and Science Sandbox. In this episode, Jacob's humility shines through and makes his words even more empowering - you're going to love listening to him!

Guest speaker: Jacob Adams, Founder and Executive Director of Inner Spark Learning Lab.

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram and Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Jacob Adams

Inner Spark Learning Lab @innersparklab

Teach for America @teachforamerica

Teach for All @teachforall

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Hello and welcome to Season 2 of Something for the Soul! I’m delighted to bring you this first episode recorded during the Teach for All Social Entrepreneurs gathering in South Africa! My first guest this season is going to blow you away, as he did me during our very first conversation on the first night of the conference in Cape Town. We grabbed some time between sessions to talk about changing your life - by taking action.

Quim talks with such heart about how a conversation with his grandma about the challenge he was having with his students provoked him to shake things up in his classroom - he actively listened to his students and their parents to understand barriers to learning. It compelled him to take action and build a solution. This led him to the journey of co-founding the edtech platform EdPuzzle at the age of 23 with his 3 best friends, who he had known since they were toddlers. He took a leap of faith and moved from Spain to the United States in seek of support from Silicon Valley startup accelerator Y Combinator and raised $4 million to launch EdPuzzle. Quim made a decision aged 18 that he would commit his life to education and now in his mid-thirties he remains resolute in his ambition to change the world.

Quim's journey into educational innovation began as a teacher through the Empieza por Educar program in Barcelona where he sought to use interactive video content in the classroom. Taking action has led Quim to expand EdPuzzle globally and serve millions of teachers and students across more than 150 countries. Quim talks so beautifully about how he was able to make bold decisions because a different 'perception of risk', which he attributes to the unwavering support of his parents. Quim's story is one of relentless pursuit for enabling children to have an excellent education, he says it is the clarity of commitment that keeps him going on the hardest days. This is an episode that will get you moving and shaking and taking action!

Guest speaker: Quim Sabrià, Co-founder and CEO of EdPuzzle.

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram and Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Quim Sabrià @quimsabria

EdPuzzle @edpuzzle

Empieza por Educar @empiezaporeducar

Teach for All @teachforall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blazhka shares the challenge she had feeling the weight of other people's expectations, namely her family and friends, when she decided to choose a path that was different to what they expected for her. I think this is something that we can all relate to which is why this is such a powerful episode. Blazhka shares the work she did to identify the values she had and also the values she wanted to have - she realised the former were driven by external expectations and not her own. She highlights the things that have assisted her when she is feeling conflicted on expectations, such as being clear on her motives, taking time for daily reflections and considering what is happening in her body when she is experiencing certain emotions, using learnings from the Huberman Lab podcast. Blazhka talks through the journey she went on to setting expectations that make her happy and have led her to an inspiring new chapter for her restaurant Blagichka, the first zero-waste restaurant in Bulgaria.

Get to know Blazhka in the first half of the podcast as talks about where her drive and motivation around a zero waste philosophy began as a student at Sofia Univerisity. She shares how she combined this passion with teaching on the Teach for Bulgaria programme to enable a learning experience for her students that led to starting Blagichka. The restaurant gives disadvantaged young people the opportunity to work in their kitchen and develop key skills. Blazhka beautifully describes how she has gone back to her roots in the village to establish a circular approach to the restaurant's sustainability as she goes through an exciting re-launch on 1 June 2024. It's a simply wonderful story.

Guest speaker: Blazhka Dimitrova, Founder and CEO of Blagichka in Bulgaria.

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram and Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Blazhka Dimitrova @blagadiary

Blagichka Zero Waste @blagichkapastry

Village Farm @farm2ubg

Teach for Bulgaria @teachforbulgaria

Teach for All @teachforall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sanju thinks about how we can respond to crisis, anchored in the motto "start with something", that Anca Margineanu shared. Sanju reflects on how we can all have an important cause that we feel strongly about in our own community or further afield that we can support through social action - this is the foundation on which RISE is built, solving for the education crisis in rural India. She thinks about problem solving at the centre of changing the world through social innovation and how more people dedicating their time to a social mission as a 'side-hustle' has the power to effect real change. Sanju believes that anyone has the capacity to be a social innovator at any scale and encourages you to get in touch if you want help with getting started.

The 'Sanju thinks...' episodes are released on the 3rd Thursday of every month (but this month the 5th Thursday!). They contain Sanju's reflections on the challenge that the guest speaker has shared earlier in the month so make sure you've listened to that episode first!

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram or Twitter or on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Anca Margineanu @ancamargineanu3

Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest @utcbro

Teach for All @teachforall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anca shares the challenge she had managing crisis - responding to the Ukraine war by building a Refugee Centre, now the biggest centre for Ukrainian refugees in Romania. She shares the difficult road she navigated in the face of a desperately harrowing situation, using the power of collaboration, partnerships and sponsorships to provide accommodation and a range of social services to the refugees. From this experience, Anca now believes anything is possible with motivation and passion for an important cause, even if you have no prior experience and even when you have other responsibilities like a full time job! Anca's humility shines through in her extraordinary story that can empower anyone to get involved in a social mission to help your community.

Get to know Anca in the first half of the podcast as she shares her experience of Teach for Romania as a fellow and then as Head of Alumni. Anca works full time at the Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest (UTCB) where she is the institutional coordinator for EU-CONEXUS, a partnership of 9 universities across Europe who are developing science and innovation into a hub of excellence on Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability. Since February 2022 Anca has also managed the UTCB Refugee Centre and supported thousands of refugees from Ukraine.

Guest speaker: Anca Margineanu, Founder and Co-ordinator of the UTCB Refugee Centre in Romania.

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram or Twitter or on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Anca Margineanu @ancamargineanu3

Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest @utcbro

Teach for Romania @teachforromania

Teach for All @teachforall

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sanju thinks about the narrative that led to her setting up RISE almost 15 years ago, rooted in her love of rural India, her cultural heritage and sense of belonging to West Bengal, specifically the village of Shondanga. This is a special episode recorded at Sanju's family home in Shondanga, which meant that her reflections on the powerful episode on Creative Recovery with Fahd Jamaleddine, Co-founder and Transformation Catalyst at nafda, were able to be more intentional. Take a virtual tour of Shondanga in the reel here by Purva Parwani, a fellow Teach for All social innovator and friend who recently stayed with Sanju and depicts her family home full of love here.

The 'Sanju thinks...' episodes are released on the 3rd Thursday of every month. They contain Sanju's reflections on the challenge that the guest speaker has shared earlier in the month so make sure you've listened to that episode first!

If you enjoyed this episode then share it on your social media and tag @sanjuthinks on Instagram or Twitter or on LinkedIn.

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Social media:

Sanju Pal @sanjuthinks

RISE @risecharity

Fahd @itsfahdd

nafda @nafda_lebanon

Teach for All @teachforall

Purva Parwani @purvainawrap

Vivek Kaushik @viveksrkaushik

Brototy Mishra @brototy

Aheli Jana @thats_so_aheli

Claylab @claylab.education

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.