SAMBALPUR: Growing up in the narrow bylanes of Daldalipada slum, Rajendra Satnami realised at an early age that only access to education and proper guidance can help underprivileged children dismantle the chains of poverty. The realisation led the 35-year-old man to embark on a mission to make supplementary teaching accessible to the children of poor economic background.
Satnami, who is a Matriculate himself and works as a LIC agent, started the “Nisulka Sikhya Kendra” in December 2016 to help the slum children in their education free of cost. The idea of starting the centre struck him when he observed that though the children were going to school in the day time, they did not study at home at night nor go to tuition as their parents could not afford it.
“Initially, the children were not willing to study. So I started off by playing games with them and made them exercise for the first few days. As they became comfortable with me, I convinced them to study under my guidance,” said Satnami.
While only 15 children came to the Kendra initially, 35 children from Class I to X are coming to his centre now. Though he teaches those students comfortably, he faces difficulty in teaching students of higher classes. Recently, two ladies have joined the centre to voluntarily teach Mathematics and English. However, he buys guide books and model test papers for the students.
Though Satnami’s efforts have earned appreciation, he is yet to get any support from the district administration. But he does not complain as he says he can run the centre with his own resources.
“There is already a blackboard in the centre. Besides, voluntary donors come forward to donate notebooks and stationeries. The only expenditure I incur is for birthday celebrations of children which motivates them,” Satnami said.
His childhood acts as a constant source of motivation for Satnami. “I discontinued my studies in 2003 after my father died. Had somebody guided me, I would not have dropped out. I don’t want anyone to meet a similar fate,” he said.