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Education is the Third Eye of a Child

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Rahul Soni

KISS, established in the year 1992-93, is the world’s largest residential tribal University, home to thirty thousand indigenous students who are provided with accommodation,medical care,nutrition, holistic formal & vocational,athletic and artistic training & education from KG to PG free of cost.  Further, it is the embodiment of empowerment of the marginalized, underprivileged group of students who have become change agents for their communities being emancipated from acute poverty through education.

 

We are recounting the moving story of   Bana Bhoi. He was a student of KISS, in the +2 2nd Year Science class for the Academic year ( 2019-20). Bana belongs to the Paraja Tribe & was born in the forest area amidst the bounty of mother nature in Koraput district. It appeared that he was born to be nature's gift to his parents. His parents Sania Bhoi & Bhabani Bhoi had named him " Bana". They dreamt big dreams about him. Things were smooth for six months. It is said that ultimately in life fate wins. Time is all-powerful. Mother Bhabani breathed her last when Bana was just an infant of six months. The small child could not fathom life's cruelty. His father was crestfallen. He did not know how to bring up the small kid. Bana grew up in the lap of her loving grandmother.  Fighting against heavy odds, Bana grew into a beautiful child. In the meantime, his father remarried for the second time. It appeared as if Bana got a new mother. But fate ordained otherwise. It was not to be. As he grew up, the step mother had little care for him. Bana used to accompany his father to the fields. He used to sit there & wait for his father to complete his work.  Sania Bhoi had hoped to see his son as a big officer. But he did not know how to achieve it. Time passed by amidst penury & distress. Still, he could get his child admitted to the village school nearby. The child grew up with the affection of the father & the grandparents.  

Life took a new turn when Bana was able to take admission into KISS with the help of a social worker. New hopes raised in his young mind as if he has got the moon from the sky. Now he is progressing in the path of growth leaving behind all sorrows & hardships. He believes that as long as KISS is with him, he will never deviate from his destiny. He is now concentrating on his education. KISS is the beckon of light amidst the gloom of despair. In addition to formal education, At KISS. Bana is getting the opportunity to preserve his own indigenous culture & traditions. He hopes to play the role of a change agent for many poor children in his native place &  wants to help them to achieve their goals.

In terms of Population, the scheduled tribe population constitutes 22.8% of the total population of Odisha as per the 2021 Census.

Paraja tribe derive their nomenclature from the common people who are tenanats or subjects under ex-feudal Lords. The Paraja live in small & big settlements in the company of other communities. The Paraja villages are located lie near the plains, foothills near forests or close proximity of streams. They are both exogamous & monogamous. The villages are managed by traditional set of leaders. They are lovers of community dancing. The language is deived from Parji ( Dravidian) and Desia ( Indo – Aryan). Their occupation revolve around shifting Cultivation, wage earning & animal husbandry.

Right education is the sine qua non for growth. This opens new vistas for the future. For a state like  Odisha with a predominantly tribal population, KISS shows the way forward. Young children like Bana are the hope for the future. The marginalized children can see the new light of growth taking a leaf from the life of Bana.

In the last three decadeold journey of tribal development & empowerment, KISS has successfully intervened to substantially check student dropouts, child marriage, extremism, proselytisation, ignorance through the twin weapons of education & empowerment.

However difficult the roadmap maybe,  the future will always be bright with the right intention with determination. Prof. Achyuta Samanta a firm believer in destiny, is charting out a new way forward for these hapless small children by giving them a new life with identity & hope.

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Rahul Soni
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