Education
Farmer’s Son’s Kartavya to Teach Kids
In a country like ours where every year hundreds of farmers succumb to death under drought condition, this farmer’s son gives life to young kids in the form of education.
In a country like ours where every year hundreds of farmers succumb to death under drought conditions, this farmer’s son gives life to young kids in the form of education. Shyam Wadhekar, a farmer’s son, started an organization called Kartavya in Pratur, Maharashtra, with the aim to provide education to meritorious students who lack financial resources.
He said, “The life of a farmer is very tough. With no other revenue source, he has to totally depend upon the year’s crop. And if it happens to fail, an entire year is lost.” Being a farmer’s son, he has seen it all, reminiscing his past, he narrates an incident where his father had to sell cattle for paying the children’s fees, one of whom was Shyam, who is an engineer, his sister a doctor and younger brother who is pursuing engineering. Considering himself lucky enough, he said, “I consider myself fortunate that we at least had something to sell. What about those families who have nothing? Those students are then forced to drop out.”
Kartavya was initiated in the year 2007, and in the very first year it was able to reach out to 12 students from five villages of the state.
Initially Shyam and a few of his friends shed their own pockets to arrange Rs. 8,000, with which they paid fees, brought books, uniforms and other essentials. Later, as Kartavya expanded its reach to rural areas, it sought help from the teachers to identify the bright and the needy students.
Kartavya has certain parameters to select a kid to offer help to which includes their financial background and academic performances. As far as their background is concerned, it also pays more attention to orphans, children of single mothers and specially abled children.
Kartavya has many great stories to its credit, one such is of Shubham Devane, a student from Pratur village of Maharashtra. Shubham is a son of tea stall owner and was about to drop out of class 5 under bad financial conditions, but to his luck, Kartavya intervened and provided him with his basic study needs. The efforts, both by the boy and Kartavya bore its fruit and today he is studying engineering at Deogiri Engineering College in Aurangabad.
Shyam doesn’t believe in giving monetary fund to kids, rather provides them with their needs, which is evident from his words when he says, “We don’t give money directly to the kids, otherwise the families or the kids might use it for other purposes. Instead, we provide them everything they need and also ensure that they don’t ask for money from their parents to fulfill their educational requirements. We tell them that if they need more notebooks or a uniform, they just have to approach us.”
Kartavya is not just limited to finding meritorious students and providing them aid but has also opened up a study centre in Partur, where students are assisted in preparing for competitive exams. This is what the philanthropist says, “This opens up their minds to think beyond just opening a small shop in the village to encompass wider career options. Also, since many villages do not have electricity, students can come here and study peacefully as we have power backup.”
Not stopping here, the organization also tries to lend a supportive hand to farmers with its ‘Mission Save Farmers’.
This is what Shayam said, “We provided assistance of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 20,000 to purchase seeds, fertilizers etc., so the families could continue with farming and the widows don’t have to beg or take help from moneylenders.”