[Reader-list] "Unsung Hero: Vipul Thaker" ( by Arnav Anjaria )

[anupam chakravartty]

Thanks for sharing this Kshmendra!

On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 2:06 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> This article has been picked up from the "Better India" website. Anyone
> seeking further details should contact the author.
>
> Kshmendra
>
>
> "Unsung Hero: Vipul Thaker"
>
> (This article has been written by Arnav Anjaria. He is a third year student
> of Integrated Masters in Political Science at the University of Hyderabad.
> He can be contacted at arnav.anjaria at gmail.com)
>
> This article is dedicated to one of the many unsung heroes bringing about a
> change. His name is Vipul Thaker, a simple man with simple dreams. Without
> going into his background, let me start from one of his birthdays. It was on
> that day when he decided he wanted to do something different. He decided to
> educate a Rabari (a tribe in Gujarat) child.
>
> A makeshift classroom was created on the terrace of his two bedroom house.
> As days passed by, Vipul went on to explore the talent in the slum
> surrounding his housing society. A few more students joined his class and
> subsequently the classroom was shifted to a light post on a nearby road. His
> class had no roof and was hence exposed to the harsh elements of the
> weather. The classes went on nevertheless. Every evening at around 09.00 pm
> the class would commence.
>
> Within one year Vipul had around twenty children who worked in the day time
> and regularly attended his evening classes.
>
> Looking at the progress of this informal school, the parents who belonged
> to the Rabari community came to his aid. They gifted Vipul with an empty hut
> to which the classes now moved. Of all the problems that Vipul faced, one
> was that of gender discrimination. The girls were not allowed to study.
> After much persuasion from Vipul, the parents were convinced and the girls
> walked in for the very first time. Within a month their strength doubled.
>
> This school wasn’t Vipul’s full time profession. He had a day job. He did
> receive some voluntary contribution from a few NRIs. After a point, he
> decided to admit his students in to a municipal school. Additionally, the
> evening classes were regularly conducted to ensure students did not miss out
> in case they didn’t go to school in the day.
>
> Vipul had a dream to nurture – he wanted every child to get education on
> par with what their more privileged peers got. He negotiated with the
> private school principals, head masters, teachers and finally led to the
> introduction of a scholarship scheme. And so today out of forty students,
> around twenty five of them have been admitted to a school with better
> amenities for the students.
>
> In the last few years, some of his students have shown their skills at the
> state level in the field of dramatic and graphic arts. Today he can proudly
> say that these children have something to look forward to. They have a
> future too. Vipul considers the renowned Gujarati educationist Gijubhai
> Badheka as his source of inspiration. He believes that Gandhian ideals too
> have been a prominent force behind his willingness to contribute selflessly.
>
> The important thing, dear readers, is that this man and many more like him
> are actually striving to provide an identity to these children. They are
> providing a platform through which these children can express their ideas
> and needs.
>
> Vipul and thousands of such grassroots revolutionaries are working towards
> bringing a constructive change in the society and we salute them for their
> relentless work in making a better India.
>
> http://www.thebetterindia.com/1349/unsung-hero-vipul-thaker/
>
>
>
>
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