Twelve-year-old Sakthi loves the fact that he is going to school. But what makes this class VII boy, who belongs to the Narikuravar community, happier is that he has managed to take forward the importance of education, inspiring a number of families of his community to send their children to the portals of learning.
For advocating the importance of education among his community, this boy has now been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2017.
Sakthi’s family hails from Arni in Tiruvannamalai and sold colourful beaded ornaments and plastic wares for a living.
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But this was inadequate for the family to make ends meet.
Growing up with five siblings, Sakthi quit school and started to help his parents in their trade.
When he was about 10 years old, his relatives informed him about a Residential Special Training Centre (RSTC) in Poongavanam that was run by an NGO, Hand in Hand India, in association with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Sakthi then joined the school.
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School drop-out
“He dropped out of school when he was in class IV. When we went to his village, we identified him as a drop-out. He joined the RSTC, and SSA mandates that children are made self-sufficient within 10 to 24 months. They have to catch up on whatever they missed and then be mainstreamed after clearing an assessment examination,” a spokesperson for the NGO said.
Soon, academics brought in a change in him.
He went on to become an ambassador of education, advocating the importance of school to other children in his community and to their parents.
Stress on cleanliness
He started to stress the need for cleanliness, and voiced his dissent against alcoholism, domestic violence and child marriage.
“I used to go home during holidays. I spoke to other children in my community and their parents. I asked my friends to join schools, give importance to cleanliness and also refine their language,” he said.
As time passed, families in the Narikuravar community started sending their children above five years of age to RSTC.
Today, 25 students from the community study at the RSTCs.
“My two elder sisters had to drop out of school as girls are not allowed to continue schooling after attaining puberty. My two younger sisters and a brother are also studying. My parents are proud and happy that we are studying,” Sakthi, who is studying in Thiyagi Middle School, Kancheepuram, added.
He joined the school for class VII after completing the bridge course in the RSTC. Happy about being nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by Hand in Hand India, Sakthi said, “I am happy that I am being able to go to school, and when I grow up, I want to become a computer engineer.”