Super Shakti Foundation Endows Damodarpur With First Ever Education Centre For Adivasi Children
News Editor, Takmaa News, Kolkata, 21st May 2023 : Super Shakti Foundation, the CSR arm of the SAI Group, a leading industrial powerhouse that deals in steel, power and infrastructure in Eastern India, has formally presented “PROJECT-SHIKSHA PRIMARY EDUCATION CENTRE” – to Damodarpur Purba Adibasi Para , a tribal village located in the district of Paschim Burdwan near Jamuria today. The centre is the first ever education centre in the village, constructed by the SAI group with an aim of eradicating illiteracy and spreading the rays of education here.
At a formal function in Damodarpur Purba Adibasi Para, Shri Sudipto Bhattacharya, Director formally unveiled the “PROJECT-SHIKSHA PRIMARY EDUCATION CENTRE” in front of dignitaries, children and elderly people of the village today.
SAI Group has a dominant presence in Eastern India and it has been working tirelessly to realize its dream of strengthening the future of the nation and building a better world. The corner stones of a better world can only be placed on the solid foundation of education. But unfortunately for some education is still a luxurious commodity.
Supershakti Foundation, the CSR wing of SAI Group knows this well. So it has taken a pledge to eradicate illiteracy and spread the rays of education to the farthest and neglected parts of this country. Damodarpur Purba Adibasi Para in Jamuria is one such dark corner which was yet to experience the effulgent, all pervading rays of education. This remote village in Paschim Bardhaman is home to 40 families and the total population is around 250. All the families belong to the schedule tribe community. Only 26 percent of the villagers are literate. There was no government school or private school in the vicinity. Absence of schools in and around the area coupled with grinding poverty had created a vicious atmosphere where only despair thrived. When Supershakti Foundation came to know about this village they decided to open an education centre there as part of CSR initiative.
The centre houses two classrooms spreading across 900 sq. ft. The education centre is equipped with all the basic amenities. The spacious class rooms are well lit and ceiling fans are there to provide respite from the scorching heat. Initially 40 students, aged between 5 to 12 have enrolled. There are 2 teachers to guide those students. Supershakti Foundation will shoulder all the maintenance and running costs of the centre including salary for the teachers, books and other miscellaneous expenses. “Supershakti Foundation has already spent Rs.23 lakhs and is committed to bearing all the expenses which would be incurred in the days to come.
“We have embarked upon this auspicious journey of providing education to empower those who due to utter negligence have been left behind and we will leave no stone unturned to bring this people to the mainstream where they would not feel ashamed to rub shoulders with people from the rest of the world”, said Mr Ishant Jain, CSR Nodal Officer, SAI Group. “Before laying the foundation stone we had to win the confidence of the villagers as they were a bit sceptical about our intentions. But once we cleared all their doubts they promised to support us in every manner.”
“Most of us do not know how to read or write. As a result, we face innumerable challenges in life. Sometimes people take undue advantage of our lack of education. Now we are hopeful that the education centre will change everything. Our sons and daughters will not face the challenges that we face every day.”, said the elderly village chief.
Bishweshwar Tudu, one of the teachers selected for the education centre said, “The education centre is like a God’s gift to us. Completing education in itself has been a tall task for the children of this village. Absence of a school or a college had made it all the more difficult. But now the little kids of the village have this education centre to take care of their studies. After completing my graduation, I had been sitting idle at home but now I have a job and I can financially support my family.”
Director Sudipta Bhattacharya who was present at the inauguration ceremony on behalf of the SAI Group said, “The education system of the state went haywire during and after the covid pandemic. Back to back natural calamities like super cyclone Amphan too have affected the socio-economic condition of the rural population. Education suffered the most. Efforts like this would help to stabilize the situation. Our priority is to increase the literacy rate and we are happy to have opened this centre. We want every student from this village and adjacent villages to come and study here. We will try to convert it into a school in future. This Initiative will definitely bring us closer to our Adivasi Community”.
