Vedika Jain

Vedika Jain (15), from India, grew up as a voracious reader with easy access to books—something she later realized was a privilege, not a norm. That realization hit hard when she started engaging directly with government schools and saw the gap firsthand.

Determined to fix it, Vedika founded Kitaab4U, organizing book collection drives across multiple private schools in Delhi to gather discarded but usable textbooks instead of letting them go to waste. She used the Vidyanjali portal, run by India’s Ministry of Education, to build partnerships with over 50 government school teachers and principals, creating a reliable pipeline to redistribute books. She’s now building a city-wide network, partnering with schools including CM Shri Schools and Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalayas, and making sure books reach students in grades 9 to 12—the years when they’re needed most.

Through a mix of on-ground drives and digital outreach, including the Kitaab4U website, Vedika has turned a personal realization into a structured, growing system that gives more students access to the books they need to succeed.