For Bipin Dhane, a 29-year-old engineer from Satara in Maharashtra, life after M Tech degree from IIT Kharagpur (2013) meant a lucrative job at a multi-national organisation in Singapore. He was doing what he calls was his parents’ dream. But for him, the job gave no sense of fulfilment or satisfaction. After two years, he quit his job and went to Majuli, a remote flood-affected island district in Assam and began teaching kids of the marginalised Mising tribe. In 2017, he opened The Hummingbird School, a co-ed institute for the children from the indigenous tribe.
The school isn’t affiliated to a recognised board but the curriculum includes academics and sports along with elements from Mising tribal culture. 20 teachers and 10 non-teaching staff take care of 240 students.
Initially, it was Bipin who arranged for the funds from his own savings. His friends and well-wishers also chipped in. But the most significant contribution was from the community. They provided him with land, bamboo, wood and everything that he needed. Later, many non-government organisations also offered him monetary assistance.
For someone who quit a high-paying job in Singapore to run a school in a remote village in Assam, what tells him that he has made the right choice? The kids and their love and affection for him do.
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