Who we are and what we're all about

Our Mission and Vision

Mission

Rochun: Pay It Forward aims to empower young people to reach their highest potential accomplishments. The main focus is on helping the young people find a purpose in life to see there is so much more beyond the world they are now living in. In order to fulfill this mission, both online and offline libraries have been established along with weekly career and educational consultation services including mentoring sessions. It is just the beginning; Rochun: Pay It Forward invests on many more upcoming projects with different sets of goals and activities.

Vision

‘Rochun: Pay It Forward’ aimed at providing access to educational resources and boosting the leadership skills of young people in Mizoram. The goals are not set to provide people with material possessions and money, but to grant resources, knowledge, and directions to help the young people become change makers on this planet.

Hopes and dreams

  • Rochun: Pay It Forward plans to build libraries in every school in Mizoram, where almost all the schools, even the most prestigious ones, do not have libraries.
  • Rochun dreams to see the Mizo youth spreading around in the most renowned academic institutes in the whole world, and to gain academic and life achievements on international levels.
  • Rochun: Pay It Forward looks forward to provide scholarships and fundings to the deserved young people for further studies, conferences, and researches.
  • Rochun hopes to collaborate with many more like-minded individual parties and organizations worldwide to fulfill its mission and to influence many more people on this planet.

Alinery Lianhlawng

Founder and Director

Alinery Lalngilneii Lianhlawng, hailing from a tribal chief lineage in Sangau, Mizoram, India, inherited a legacy of responsibility for her community. Despite the abolition of tribal chief rulings, her late father instilled in her a commitment to community development. Alinery, inspired by her father’s dreams, excelled academically, earning international scholarships for higher studies. Passionate about uplifting those with limited resources, she collaborated with organizations to establish libraries and participated as a speaker in prestigious events worldwide. In memory of her father, she founded ‘Rochun: Pay It Forward,’ expanding from a library project to a multi-school initiative. Alinery, with degrees in Environmental Science and an MBA from University of Sussex, emphasises providing knowledge and resources to empower young people. Through her organisation, she pioneers projects, offering life-changing platforms to Mizo youth. Her journey embodies the legacy of her father and a commitment to fostering positive change.

Vittoria Zipoli Caiani

Trustee

Originally from Italy and currently based in Manila Philippines, Vittoria has lived in 6 different countries, thriving in the cultural deep dive and always looking for a way to make a positive societal contribution. Mother of 3 and enthusiastic about sports and wellbeing, Vittoria combines her wanderlust with ambitious sport’s challenges with a fundraising motivation. Vittoria is a certified professional Co-Active® Coach CPCC from the Coaches Training Institute and a Professional Certified Coach PCC with the International Coach Federation ICF. Her focus is on personal development, inner alignment, mindfulness, leadership, cultural awareness and being comfortable with change and transitions. Her mission is to empower people to be catalysts for the change they want to see for themselves and the world.

Klaudia Lewonczyk

Trustee

Klaudia throughout her studies have consistently challenged herself to break out of her academic and social comfort zones. Starting with the exchange program in India, she attended many international conferences in countries like China, Jordan, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. While her passion has always been to travel the world, her interest focuses on business, entrepreneurship, and leadership. She believes in always going the extra mile and dreaming big dreams.

Klaudia is a master in management graduate, she visited more than 50 countries but her bucket list is still growing.

Chhani Bungsut

Project Manager

Chhani comes from Aizawl, Mizoram, and is currently working as the Communications and Advocacy Officer at Development Pathways, based in London. She has a Master’s degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Oxford and has previously worked as the Communications Lead for the Centre for Pastoralism, based in New Delhi. 

Interested in both research and advocacy, Chhani is passionate about bringing quality education to young people across Northeast India, particularly refugee and internally displaced children. She is also passionate about environmental sustainability and land rights, hoping to contribute to policymaking and grassroots efforts in both areas.

In her free time, Chhani likes to cook, travel, and boulder.

Chris Youngman

Trustee

Chris is a British/German 25-year-old master’s Student of M.Sc. Development Economics; his thesis is on ‘Market Access among Fishing Communities at Pulicat Lake in Eastern India’. He has a longstanding interest and admiration for South Asia, brought about by numerous visits to Nepal for research and social enterprise, and most recently a study trip to South India with his University.

After meeting Alinery at the University of Sussex, they worked together on Labdoo and Enactus projects and is naturally excited to work together once more. He is a strong believer in education for all, especially in remote and underserved communities. Chris is learning languages such as Korean and Nepali, is a keen foodie, travels as much as he can, and enjoys hiking and being out in nature. He hopes to visit Mizoram and the Northeast very soon, not least to see the work of Rochun. Ka theihtawp ka chhuah ang!

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