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reflections from mitra, christian hospital, bissamcuttack, orissa, india – 765019
shikha maria bhattacharji
FULFILMENT OF A DREAM
Inauguration of a community school at Dharasing village
26th November 2005, Dharasing
There are some days in the history of a people that stand out as earth-shatteringly memorable. Saturday the 26th of November 2005 was such a day for the Kuvi people of the Piskapanga gram panchayat of the Rayagada district, Orissa. Five villages joined together to dream of a school where their children might have the opportunity of education that has eluded generations of people in this tribal area. The school was funded and built by the people, parents and families of these villages and nearly one hundred children will begin a new chapter of their lives.
History and background note
The five villages of Jarpa, Dharasing, Tangadapa, Jubba and Runguti lie in the Rayagada district,Orissa, on the border between the Piskapanga GramPanchayat of the Chandrapur block, and Rasakolla GramPanchayat of Bissamcuttack block. People belong to the Kuvi tribe and speak the Kuvi language. The villages lie within the Karlaghati and Urarhi reserve forests, and even today have limited road access and no communication services. In 1980, Dr Lis Madsen, the founder of the ChristianHospital at Bissamcuttack, and her team travelled in Piskapanga during the disastrous floods and landslides that hit the area that year. There were no tubewells in the region and people were dying like flies of dysentery, diarrhea and malaria, with no support from the authorities or bamboo companies that worked in the area. Exploited by the outside world and cheated in the markets, the village leaders realized the importance of education. They requested Dr. Ma (as Lis Madsen was known) to train a group of young people between the ages of 12-25 years as teachers. These teachers in turn began night schools that trained the next set of tribal teachers. Today, these teachers are sarpanchs, chairpersons, village committee members and leaders. Ensuring that their children receive the education they themselves were deprived of is their dream.
On paper three villages of Jarpa, Jubba and Dharasing have schools with children enrolled and eating mid-day meals. The reality is shockingly different. One school worked only for a short while, over two decades ago. The other two never started. In fact, in one, even the building didn’t actually get built. Whole generations missed their chance for education. Today, about forty-five children are enrolled in the MITRAResidentialSchool at Kachapaju (MrsK) in the neighboring Bissamcuttack block, but the remaining one hundred and twenty plus have no access to any kind of education. MrsK was started in 1998 by the people of 16 villages (including these 5) in the Kachapaju cluster with the support of MITRA. Akkumajhi Gogerangafrom Tangadapa village is a teacher at MrsK.He shared the philosophy of MrsK with the community. The seeds sown by MITRA and MrsK gave leaders the confidence to dare to plan and dream.
The process
A School Committee was set up comprising of parents and leaders from all five villages, headed by Suna Bidika from Dharasing. Each family contributed Rs.30/- towards the building of a classroom, with a water-proof tarpaulin roof, and teacher’s room at the back.Each village donated Rs.1000/- from their community funds. The parents organized the purchase of uniform materials and the tailor from nearby Dukum undertook a large, emergency order at short notice.They also bought bags and tiffin-carriers for the children to use everyday. In consultation with MITRA and MrsK, the village committee employed Sina Saraka from Kachapaju to be their first teacher. The 22 year old had just finished a teacher training course, supplemented by a month’s experience at MrsK. He will be assisted by Santhoshi Bag and Mutudu Hikoka, who have studied till grade 5 at MrsK. The village committee and MITRA hope to train and support atleast two more teachers to be able to handle three age groups of children at the school.
The inauguration
The School committee organized an inauguration function for the school on Saturday, 26th November 2005 at Dharasing village. People from 5 villages walked to Dharasing, bringing their children. Representatives from 26 villages joined them in solidarity. Bright-eyed and smiling, the children sat in neat rows, in their shining new uniforms of navy blue, clutching school bags and tiffin boxes. The school was decorated with palm pandals and coloured streamers. The village band and dancing girls with garlands welcomed the guests with Kuvi songs and dances. 872 people (353 men, 384 women and 145 children) were gathered together to celebrate the making of history. The school represents the desire of an exploited people to fulfill the rights of their children, to ensure for them a secure future and to live their dream.
Akkumajhi welcomed the gathering and introduced the dignitaries.The Majhi of Dharasingh, Dilli Bredaka, lit the lamp and brokea coconut at the threshold of the school.Kandami Bredaka, the Swasthya Sevika or village health worker in Dharasing, was requested to cut the ribbon.
Speeches followed, with about twelve speakers sharing their joy at this extraordinary celebration.
Ramu Gogeranga, a former MITRAliteracy worker from Tangadapa village, spoke of the dream the teachers had to develop their villages. He thanked Akkumajhi for arousing them from their sleep and challenging them into action.
“I cry” said Raghunath Urlaka, a leader from Jubba, “our sadness will never end. Our children can not read or write. We are scared of every threat. We live here, we die here. Now we hope that our children will study at the tuition centre, get certificates of recognition from the government school and study further. We ask our leaders here to help us do this.”
Suna Bidika talked of the many opportunities children were missing out on without school. Now he believes that they will learn to read and write.
“History is being re-written” said Judhisti Saraka of Kachapaju village. He recounted the story of change, beginning with Dr Ma’s entry into the area 25 years ago. The process had led to the setting up of a Health Centre by Mitra in Kachapaju in 1997, and the MRSK in 1998. He had also been instrumental in getting these 5 villages involved again in the Mitra movement. He urged the people to keep their interest growing everyday.
“As I look at the children today, I see them as the result of a 25 year dream – a dream that has finally come true” says Madhabo Rano, MITRA coordinator, who worked in the area with Dr. Madsen. “We call water by different names, based on the container it comes in – a glass of water, a bucket of water, a river of water. But Water is essentially the same, whatever the container. Today, we are here – some as Panchayat leaders, some as parents, some as social activists and others as students. But essentially we are the same ; our aims are the same.”
The Principal of MrsK, Chandrasekhar Ray stressed the importance of seeing potential in each child. “We need a kind of education where the children will respect their culture and roots” he reflected.
“When the earth trembles in an earthquake” said Dr. Johnny Oommen, team leader of MITRA, “one cannot control or change it. We can only stand by and say namaskar. When fields are ready for planting, and we wait for the rains ; when the clouds burst and the deluge comes, we cannot control it or hasten it ; we humbly say namaskar. Today the earth is shaking in these 5 villages in an earthquake of people power. Today, the rain we prayed for has finally come – we can only stand still and say namaskar.”
“We can do it” chant the children, repeating the words of ShyamSingh Kulisika from Dukum. “I remember the days of exploitation when we were cheated and pushed around” reminisces Shyamsingh. “People told us – in a hundred years, you Malkhond people will not change. People looked down on us as khondo-dombo(tribals and low caste). If we cooked food, they would not eat. We have suffered so much. But our blood is all the same, we are all humans. And now our day has come: What we cannot do, our children will do!”
MITRA presented the school with notebooks and pencils for the children. A football, skipping ropes and Frisbees were also given so the children will be able to play and enjoy their time at school. The girls from Tangadapa sang a kuvi song in closing, after which the guests were taken in to see the classroom. Lunch was served to all the guests, dignitaries and MITRA representatives. The children, who had listened quietly and patiently to the speeches and songs, ate their first meal together at their new school.
May the dream grow stronger
Ninety one children, led by their teacher, parents and village committee have taken their first step on a new and exciting journey. There is much enthusiasm and undiscovered potential that we hope will be explored to the full. This generation has been offered the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to see their parents dreams fulfilled. We trust that the determination and courage displayed here will multiply and spread to a larger movement of change for the Kuvi people of Piskapanga. May the dream grow stronger, may the aspirations of a people be fulfilled.
Postscript:
On Sunday, 27th of November, ninty onechildren were at school at eight am – classes begin at nine o’clock. The children learn their first lesson – ‘ah, ahh, ee, eee’ and how to play Frisbee. Not bad for a first day at school!
Post Post Script :
The Darasingh initiative is part of a larger process that Mitra is finding itself drawn into. This is the fifth centre where, in the last 4 months, village communities in the Mitra area have decided to take the bull by the horns. In each of these, they have recruited educated Adivasi youth to add quality to the existing but fruitless schools in their villages. Kakaramaska, Madua, Darukona, Kondhaguda, Darasingh……………………And miles to go.
(Shikha Bhattacharji is from Vellore in Tamil Nadu, and has trained in Human Rights. She is presently a volunteer with Mitra, ChristianHospital, Bissamcuttack, and was a participant at the Dharasing gathering. Photos courtesy Nina Bentzer and Herbert.Meissner)
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