The beginning
It all started with Dipak waking up at 4am and walking for four hours to the nearest village. It was the closest school available – he was only ten years old.
Dipak is my brother; the oldest brother of six.
In our small village we did not have the luxury of clean water, of electricity, of a hospital, let alone a school.
We all had to help with the maintenance of the house, we all had to earn our food. Being one of the youngest, my job was to take care of the goats. Dipak was in charge of the farming together with my father and all my older brothers.
Father knew that education alone would help all the children in the village to get out of the hardships they all had to go through in order to eat every day.
And so one day my father decided that enough was enough. If no one could help his children get a deserved education, he would do it.
Father gathered all the people in the village and spoke about his vision. All agreed that it was the way to go.
The project to build a school in the village started to form. They decided that the money to start building and to pay the teachers would come from selling wood from the forest. Everybody had a job to do.
There were the wood cutters, the ones who transported and sorted out the wood, the ones who sold the wood, the accountant, the builders, the ones who bought the materials, the cooks, the water carriers.
Everybody contributed to the cause and so after 3 months a brand new school was born with no electricity nor drinking water but with so much hope for the better times to come!
But we all know that good things come in drops. The community was happy but they were aware that it was only the start, there was still a long way to go.
We finally did not have to wake up at four in the morning and walk for 4 hours to get an education.
We children went to the new school from 8 to 12, still with no water and many with no food in their bellies.
If a child was thirsty during the morning, they had to walk for 20 minutes to get to the nearest pond. If a child was hungry, they had to wait.
Years passed and they proved my father right. Education lifted his children away from poverty; most of us were able to get a higher degree and get good jobs that we enjoy. Dipak was able to sleep for another four hours.
I know that I am fortunate to have the father I have. I learned compassion and hard work from him, and in the end, life smiled on all of us. I want the same for all the children I see in the small villages that are so similar to the one I grew up in, that face all the problems I once faced. I want the children to have time to play, to enjoy a book, to have a good education, to have food on their tables, to be able to see a doctor when they need it.
The school


