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| That's Rokho with Daughter All Photo taken from Rokho's facebook page with permission |
The first time I heard his soft yet deep toned voice was
over the phone. He was then serving in the Border Security Force (BSF) and was
posted somewhere in Punjab. It was very rare or rather the only time that my
husband, then my fiancé, would make me talk to his friends over phone. Later, I
learned that it was him who insisted to talk to me. He was one of my husband’s childhood
friends. His name is Rokho Duomai.
A year later after the telephonic talk, I met him in person
during our wedding where he was a signatory witness. He along with some other
friends and my husband took me around introducing me to all the fields, jungles
and the people of their village, Phuba Thapham. He and his wife have two
beautiful kids, a girl and a boy. The daughter, the older one, happens to be of
the same age as my daughter. Upon my request, they have also agreed to make our
daughters ‘khyo’, a lifelong friendship bond traditionally made between boys
and hopefully some day soon we can complete the ritual that seals the ‘khyo’. After
the death of his father, as the elder son he also took the responsibility of
raising his younger siblings, one of them whom I happen know well is currently studying
in the prestigious IIT, Delhi. He and some other friends also started an
initiative of giving scholarships to deserving girl students studying in the
village. These are some of the many reasons why I value him and his family. But
above all these, he’s a hero and here’s why…
Most people from Manipur who got education from outside the
state prefer pursuing their career outside the state including the likes of me.
Reasons may vary from lack of opportunity to corruption to occasionally
security concerns (though outsider may see that as the main reason). But here
was one who decided to go back, not because he did not find other greener
pastures elsewhere, but because he wanted to. And unlike many others who do go
back for want of easy living where no one dares to question insincerity at
workplace, he went to make a difference. Not only did he go back but he also
joined education department, the most notorious (according to my judgment) of
all departments in corruption. Either the enthusiastic new employee (how they
are recruited is another story I’m choosing to ignore at the moment) is greeted
with a school that does not exist or a school whose building has become a cow
shed.
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| The School Campus |
Meeting him and seeing his work however was an excitingly
new experience. I was informed that he didn’t bribe anyone to get his job! This
piece of information definitely did rekindle my lost hope in Manipur. Besides, he still had the motivation and his
work reflected genuine passion. The school didn’t have a Head Master for some
reason but I’m glad they didn’t have one as Rokho can function as the Head. He
literally brought the dead school alive. Along with the rejuvenation of the
school hopes returned for the most vulnerable children of the village. Among my definition of the most vulnerable includes orphans, whose responsibilities are usually shared among relatives, children of widows, children of single mothers, girl children of big family whose parents can only afford the education of their boys, disabled children and the likes. Despite
many struggling in the process most other people were somehow able to send their
children away from the village to the nearby towns and cities for education.
I saw the joy on his face when he took us to show the
buildings that were coming up in school campus. He informed us that some of the
rooms would be used to accommodate the growing numbers of students in the
school. Some others were to be used as hostels for students from neighboring villages
where schools don’t exist or rather don’t function. And to add to the good news
was that the villagers themselves mobilized and contributed to the building of
these structures coming up. I am of the opinion that it is the government’s
duty to provide such infrastructure, but when the government mechanism fails to
work and the common people are able to take over for a time being while
advocating at the government level, I’m happy about it.
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| Students During PT class |
Running the school without having the full strength of appointed
teachers is another issue he had to deal with. He, along with few of the
appointed teachers who make it to school, take extra classes whenever possible.
Besides, other educated people from the village are also taken in as substitute
teachers to make up for those teachers who refuse to work for the salary they get
from the government. I’m told that few of these so called ‘teachers’ donate to
the actual teachers who are teaching on their behalf some amount from their
pay. Besides, the community people again contribute to the salary of the
substitute teachers.
Lost in my own dreams for the school, I asked him what his
dream was for the school. That the school will become the best in the region or
that the school produces board exam toppers were some of the answers I was
expecting. However, he very nicely brought me back to reality with this simple
answer, “I wish more children will get enrolled to the school and start
studying.”
This is the kind of teacher I celebrate this day. Happy
Teachers Day!
***If anyone is interested in contributing some amount to Rokho’s
car project, you can email to veiopou@gmail.com.
