Tossed by fate, but bounced back with grace

From dealing with sleepless nights due to frequent Naxal attacks, to nurturing dreams of becoming IAS and police officers, a new chapter appears to be unfolding for the children of Dantewada, or Dakshin Bastar district in Chhattisgarh.

Take the case of Kishan Kumar Bhandari, 14, from the sleepy village of Jawanga. Undeterred by the loss of a leg to polio, he now yearns to stand tall. Having gained enough confidence, he aspires to become a collector.

Like Bhandari, there are over 100 differently-abled kids in the village, all students of Saksham, a residential school, who have been courting dreams of becoming teachers, police personnel , and IAS officers. The residential school for the physically challenged at the Education City at Jawanga, has helped many children gain self-confidence. Most students at Saksham have either lost one or both parents in naxal attacks.

Bhandari, the son of a farmer, was ecstatic when he was shortlisted from 10 different schools in the Education City to question Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the ‘Mann ki Baat’ programme organised by the authorities, on a recent visit to the village.

Having faced many challenges at a young age, Bhandari wanted to know how Modi defined success in life. “Life should not be seen as success and failure,” said a philosophical Modi.

“If you start thinking about it, you will stop enjoying life. I learned from my failures, and I try to succeed,” added Modi, the first Prime Minister to visit the naxal-infested Bastar district, after the state was carved out from Madhya Pradesh in 2000.

Asked why he yearned to become a district collector, Bhandari said he was inspired by the kind of respect these officials command when they visit the school, and interact with the students.

“Hamare teacher bhi darte hai (Even our teacher is scared),” he giggles. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh’s decision to hand-pick young talented IAS and IPS officers to serve the naxal-hit areas appears to be working wonders.

Singh’s pet project, the Education City is spread over 170 acres, and was nurtured by Om Prakash Choudhary, then the Collector of Dantewada.

The present Collector of Dantewada, KC Devasenapathi, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, was instrumental in including Saksham to the Education City. Incidentally, both Collectors are 34-years-old.

Saksham has been specially designed for the differently-abled kids, and imparts skills that ensure independence, sustainability and self employment.

Besides a ramp for the free movement of the physically challenged, the floors have specially embossed tiles that provide orientation and coded information, via tactile pathways for the visually impaired.

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