Sourav Bose 
Age: 17
Hometown: Leonia, New Jersey
Project: Gopalpur Health Education Center

Sourav’s interest in science and health began at the age of five, experimenting in his parents’ home with soaps and powders. But it was during a sixth grade health class, when Sourav brought in one of his father’s textbooks about HIV/AIDS, that his passion for combating the global pandemic was truly sparked.

At 14, he founded the Aid for AIDS club, which now has over 20 high school chapters in New Jersey and led to the creation of the nonprofit he chairs, Niramoy. Through these efforts, Sourav mobilized both his peers at home and villagers abroad to make his vision of a public health education center in Gopalpur, India a reality.

The center offers resources and a meeting place for the local villagers as well as travelers from the nearby trucking route. Currently, the four-room building contains a small library and an HIV/AIDS education room offering vital information to citizens of a country with an alarming and increasing rate of HIV prevalence.

But Sourav has only begun what he recognizes is a “long-term” project. In the works are more library resources and an expanded education program which will tackle other critical health issues beyond HIV/AIDS. He is also working on plans to add a technology center and hopes to one day have solar panels installed to provide consistent electricity.

“The ultimate goal is to help nurture a society conscious of safety culture and equipped with the skills to decrease mortality rates and increase literacy,” says Sourav. And with plans to keep Niramoy going strong in New Jersey and pursue a career in medicine or public health, Sourav is working toward just that.