UTTARAKHAND: Janki Chand, 34, is an early riser with meditation being more than a ritual. Her day begins with her official work at the anganwadi centre at Banbasa, a border town in Champawat district of Uttarakhand. Polio afflicted Chand’s feet when she was hardly two years old. She had to move on her four limbs till she was 13 years and managed to stand upright and started walking with the help of a stick.
“I was able to go to school only after that. My mother feared for my future and I worked hard to catch up with other children who were way ahead of me. My sister and mother helped me with my study,” recalls Chand, an anganwadi worker.
She also teaches underprivileged children who cannot afford education in private schools and motivates young girls to move ahead in their life, never giving up. Held in high esteem in an area known as ‘Banbasa Basti Meena Bazar’ of 3,500 people, she has ensured no child is deprived of education and no girl is deprived of her basic rights.
“It was in 2006 when I first visited the colony. Most children there were delinquents and wasted their time in useless activities. I took a year before I could understand a little bit about the situation. I spoke to the youths and encouraged them to focus on productive work,” says Chand.
Her alcoholic father left her mother and four siblings when she was just 10 years old. She decided to join her mother to work in the fields, and gradually moved to taking tuitions and working odd jobs in households.
Janki completed her graduation while wheelchair-bound and got a job as an Anganwadi worker in 2006 in Banbasa, her hometown. “A little support can change lives if provided at the right time. I cannot remain neutral and go on with my life seeing others around me suffer and struggle,” says the recipient of the President’s Medal in 2011 for her exemplary work in the country’s census work.
Aman Kumar is among those who were educated and supported by her. He is now president of the students’ union in the local government college. “Janki-didi has transformed our lives. We can’t imagine our fate without her.”
Kumari Shivani, a college student who too was supported by Chand, says, “It is because of her that everyone in our locality understood the importance of education and hard work in life. We all want to chase our dreams for a better life.” Chand has been a recipient of various awards, including the prestigious Tilu Rauteli Award, from Uttarakhand government.
Janki’s four younger siblings are settled – a younger sister serves in the state police and a brother is in the Indian Army. “I am happy this way… I feel I have a duty towards those who are in need of help,” says the postgraduate in three subjects -- History, Sociology and Social Work.
She now wants to expand her work. “I have not been let down as much by my own circumstances as by insults, discrimination and bad behaviour of some people and institutions. I was once told I was good for nothing. On another occasion, a bank employee had thrown away my loan request file. I have never given up,” says Janki Chand who aspires to join provincial civil services.