Friday, September 20, 2013

KISS: A Revolution against POVERTY

The eminent policy makers, economists, politicians and now even the new governor of RBI is busy finding a solution to the never ending problem of our country – Poverty. There are many who believe that it has become a national joke, while there are few who have brought some changes in the country with their efforts. One such person is Dr. A. Samanta.

Most of the Corporate Houses in the country believes that Eastern India is a key potential area for Growth. One such state in this part of the country is Odisha – a state which has remained poor, even though the development has started in the recent years.  Dr. Samanta has faced poverty first hand. This was when he lost his father at the age of 4. It was during his childhood when he made it a mission to do something for the poor. He developed a vision that poverty can only be eradicated only through Education.

A man who started a small ITI Institute in the city of temples – Bhubaneswar with a small sum of Rs. 5000/-, has today made it become an educational conglomerate par excellence. It is called Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS). KISS started 20 years back as a modest residential school with 125 tribal children. Today KISS has become World’s Largest Tribal School, which takes the credit of providing free education and livelihood to more than 20,000 tribal children who come from 62 tribes of Odisha and nearby states. The uniqueness of this institute is that it has a zero drop our rate and a far better pass percentage. It doesn’t stop here. The students of this school have Won India Under – 14 Rugby World Cup in 2007. The students have represented not only India but also Asia in various international championships. Recently a 17 year old student of this school named Laxman Hembram was selected (the only youth from India) to participate in the Malala Day United Nations Youth Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York. The school not only imparts education but also teaches new skills to the students such as tribal arts, craft, horticulture, poultry farming, etc. While grasping this vocational training course, the students can earn some money by selling the products which they make and proudly send back this money to their family living in remote and poverty stricken areas.

The awards and achievements of Dr. Samanta and his KISS are enormous. The President, The Vice – President, The US Ambassador and many Nobel laureates, policy makers and international luminaries have visited this heaven on earth. The Chief Ministers of Chhattisgarh and Delhi have invited Dr. Samanta to open a KISS in their state as well. This world class model is a testimony of the dedication, hard work and efforts of a man (Dr. Samanta), who himself is a bachelor and still lives in a rented house.

I feel proud to be a fan of Dr. Samanta, by choice.



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