126) A teacher's passion

Meet Ms. Banu Reka, a school principal in Keezharippalayam in Erode district in Tamilnadu. One to those real backward areas, Banu heads a school with just 60 children. Just one room serves as the school and she has an additional teacher to help out.

These 60 odd students assemble there right at the stroke of noon. Their main attraction is the free midday meal and so driven more by poverty than attempt at study. These boys and girls hail from construction worker families, and so poverty stricken that just to be alive is some sort of an achievement. In addition itinerant too, sleeping on the roads or on the construction site in hopeless squalour.

Ms. Banu, when she took up her assignment was initially petrified at the task on hand. The school just had one room and it had to house these kids whose age range from to 5 to 15. Her assistant was an untrained teacher, sound at heart and willing to learn. These two women did not know where to start before they divided their responsibilities: Banu looked after children above 8 while Sumathi attended to the toddlers.

The midday meal was one attraction that drove these kids to school. To discipline them, she made it clear that they need to attend a class at least for an hour to be eligible for that meal. Slowly, in fits and starts these women brought in a degree of order and it took more than a year for the school to operate for at least 3 hours a day.

Last year, Banu organized the school’s “annual day” and the whole village was agog with excitement. Soon a philanthropist donated two cup boards besides toilets. Now the kids could keep their notebooks secure.

Banu and Sumathi’s main task were to make these kids believe in a better future. They needed lessons in hygiene besides attending to their ailments. Banu had trained for a first aid course before coming here and that proved to be invaluable as soon the kids and parents began to consult her on fevers and other niggles.

In a couple of years, Banu’s influence in the community was enormous, so much so that she was awarded the “Broad Outlook Learner-Teacher” BOLT award instituted by Air India and given a free holiday to Singapore.

Imagine a teacher from a dusty interior embarked on an international flight. Going to the airport for the first time is excitement enough while immigration and security checks an adventure. When she boarded the flight, she felt her heart thud as she exclaimed,” what glitter and opulence”. As the bird climbed into its altitude, she craned her neck out of the window for a view. Never had she been so happy and thrilled.

That experience proved invaluable to Banu. She saw at first hand the Singapore’s fastidious drive for cleanliness and soon her school too adapted some of them.

Today, her school has a no-plastic zone, children are initiated in rainwater harvesting, wildlife protection, and being environment conscious. She and Sumathi take these children out on treks regularly ensuring that they remain excited. Banu runs tapes of her Singapore visit to point as to how much each child can contribute to keep the village neat.

In the five years, Banu and Sumathi have wrought a miracle. Today the school is active and some of the students have reached a stage as to even take state board exams. A lot needs to be done and District Collector has promised a bigger school.

I have known Banu for quite sometime now. She always has that friendly cheer and the eyes have not lost that childlike sparkle. She said,” Actually, when I went to Singapore I was only teacher from Tamilnadu. I couldn’t interact much with the others since I am not familiar with either English or Hindi. Now I am going to learn both”.

No wonder she won the best teacher award!!!