Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarayu Ayyalasomayajula
Hi Sarayu, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Sarayu Ayyalasomayajula, and I am a third year Neuroscience student at Georgia Tech. For years, I’ve been interested in both the sciences and the arts, trying to engage in the intersection between the two. In high school, I discovered the Sierra Project Foundation (SPF), a nonprofit promoting health literacy and education for children in underserved areas. SPF’s mission involves utilizing the power of storytelling to create comics that spark a better understanding of health, changing the way children view their bodies and wellbeing. In 2021, I joined as an intern, and today, I am the national co-director of the organization.
Over the past few years, we have made and delivered over 7000 comics to 15+ countries and global organizations. Our comics target topics like disease prevention, mental health, and health awareness, among others. Overall, our hope is to continue tackling issues of health disparity and inequity through educational material.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
While my SPF journey has been mostly smooth, there were a few hardships I faced. After serving as an intern for 2 years, I decided to start an Atlanta chapter of the nonprofit. The process of organizing my own interns and procuring funds to support our comic distribution was tough and took time. Initially, for the first few months, we could only distribute virtual comics to the international organizations we partnered with. However, in time, we found solutions to the struggles we faced, receiving enough funding to print and ship our comics abroad. Now, as a national Co-Director, I use the lessons I learned as an intern and chapter head in all my endeavors, striving to continue towards our mission of health literacy.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As Co-Director of the Sierra Project Foundation, my work centers on advancing health literacy and education for children in underserved communities. Recently, I’ve expanded this mission to include climate action education, recognizing the profound ways that climate and health intersect. Climate change affects everything from air quality to food security, and directly impacts public health in vulnerable communities. A couple months ago, I was awarded the Atlanta’s Youth Climate Action Fund by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience. Through a $4,000 microgrant, supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, I’m creating resources that empower young people to understand and take action on climate issues. By addressing climate action awareness alongside health education, I hope to equip the next generation with the knowledge they need to protect their health and their environment, fostering a more sustainable future. This holistic approach, combining science, art, health, and environmental education, is what I believe sets our work at SPF apart.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
One surprising thing about my involvement with the Sierra Project Foundation is that I actually started as an intern back in 2021. Many people see me now as a Co-Director and assume I’ve always held a leadership role, but I’ve worked at nearly every level within the nonprofit over the years. My journey from intern to Co-Director involved a lot of hands-on work, from personally distributing comics to managing a cohort of interns and launching a new branch of SPF in Atlanta to overseeing all the chapters in the US. This progression has given me a deep understanding of every aspect of the organization, which has been invaluable in guiding our projects and expanding our impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sierraprojectfoundation.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sierraprojectatl/
Image Credits
Sierra Project Foundation
