Grassroots Spotlight: Vriti Khurana

Many people have a turning point when they decide to get involved in ending poverty.

My family is from India, but I was born in Florida and moved around quite a bit. During my first visit to India, just walking down the street I saw so much poverty. Back then I was somewhat oblivious to it. I was around six years old; I didn’t really know what was happening.

Then I moved to Philadelphia, and I had the same exact experience here. It was jarring to come across so many people struggling to get by in the U.S. and around the world.

That was my point of clarity. I realized that there are so many global and domestic poverty issues that we need to focus on, putting our power into practice.

A lot of my family members have personal experience with the issues RESULTS advocates work on: unfair housing policies, tuberculosis, AIDS, malaria, and more. The power and support that I’ve gotten from the RESULTS community is absolutely amazing.

Together we have gotten so much done; one example is the funding for the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria we advocated for and secured last year in Congress, funding that helps save lives. And we’re hoping to build on those successes to have an even greater impact.

RESULTS is supporting people to empower themselves. A lot of lobbying these days is people speaking for others. As I’ve been talking to members of Congress lately, I’ve realized that they see so many different types of stories and lobbying organizations. I think RESULTS is super different. We are encouraging people to speak up and tell their own stories, and that is so much more powerful.

Vriti is an alum of the RESULTS Fellowship (formerly known as REAL Change Fellowship) and lives in Philadelphia. Interested in joining the fellowship? Click here for more info.