As India commemorates National Youth Day on January 12, we highlight the passionate work of the many socially aware rural teens who volunteer their time and energy to teach village children during the pandemic.
Young children start arriving at Jamuna Podiami’s doorstep at 6 am.
Podiami, a 19-year-old tribal girl who has completed her higher secondary education, gets up very early so that she can finish her household chores before the children arrive.
Then her modest hut turns into a school for the children in the Parajaguda village of Odisha’s Malkangiri district. Podiami teaches the children till 9 am.
She is not the only one dedicating her time to teaching the young.
In Kaliaguda, a remote village in Koraput district, 18-year-old Bhagabati Naik also teaches 18 children for up to three hours a day.
Volunteers, like Podiami and Naik, are the only means of education for rural children who have no access to electronic devices and so cannot attend online classes during the pandemic-induced lockdowns.
With the support of local community organisations, they ensure that the children’s education continues despite the pandemic.
Parajaguda village has a single primary school and it was closed in March 2020 when the first lockdown was announced.
“None of the children in my village have smartphones and could not attend online classes initiated by the school or the mass education department of the Odisha government,” said Podiami.
In fact, many school students began helping their families by herding cows and goats.
The situation in Kaliaguda was no different.
Parents and villagers were desperate to find an alternative solution as they knew that loss of learning could affect their young children.
According to a UNESCO report, in some developing countries, including rural India, school closures during the pandemic resulted in substantial losses in maths and reading.
Recognising the need to keep the children connected to their education, the Atmashakti Trust, a Delhi-based non-profit organisation, started Mo Chatashali, a community-supported education initiative.
Before the formal school education system was introduced in Odisha, the community took a collective responsibility of the education of their village children. They appointed an educated person, often from the same village, to teach the children. Though it was voluntary, some parents paid in cash and kind.
Based on the same principle, Atmashakti started Mo Chatashali – roughly translated as my school – in 17 districts of Odisha, roping in young volunteers as teachers.
The initiative, involving teenaged volunteers, has helped over one lakh children continue their education during the pandemic.
“Our idea was to involve local young people in order to help them inculcate a sense of ownership and accountability,” said Ruchi Kashyap, an executive trustee of the Atmashakti Trust.
Villagers of Kaliaguda see Bhagabati Naik as their only ray of hope. She teaches them at Kaliaguda’s Mo Chatashali centre, which is run by the local organisation Lok Bikash Mancha with community support.
Having struggled to complete her schooling as a girl child, Naik saw herself in the children and decided to make sure that they didn’t go through the same hurdles as she did.
“Children who were almost detached from their books are now back to their learning. The passion with which Bhagabati does her work is truly inspiring,” said Sumitra Bhumia, a parent who has been sending her two children to the Mo ChatashalI centre regularly.
In Dumerbahal village, Nurya Patel readily agreed to volunteer as she has always been keen to devote time and contribute to society.
Every day, she teaches 20 children from classes I to V in her village with the support of the local people’s collective Nagarik Vikas Sangathan.
“As a volunteer I’m extremely happy as my work somehow bridges the digital divide among children. I also feel that it’s important to give back to the community, even if in small ways,” she said of her work.
Though Podiami got married as soon as she finished schooling in the middle of 2020, by December 2020 she was teaching 35 children from classes I to VI every day.
“Volunteers like Jamuna, Nurya and Bhagabati are examples of how young women can set examples by giving back to their communities. Their burning desire to bring social change is what helped us sustain the initiative,” said Kashyap.
“Even though the pandemic was a big blow to the education of underprivileged children, the youth volunteers have been helping these children continue their lessons,” she added.
Naba Kishor Pujari is a Bhubaneswar-based development professional associated with Atmashakti Trust.
