After noticing the high number of uneducated children in his village in Murshidabad, West Bengal, Babar Ali started a school in his backyard. In one of the oldest districts in the country, far from the modern amenities, he developed a school for children he saw coming back from work. And he did all this when he was just nine years old.
“I noticed children without aim so I made up my mind to do something positive for these helpless children. I’d see girls and boys of my age coming home from work instead of coming home from school. Most of the boys worked as mechanics. Girls cooked and cleaned. I would make them sit in the backyard of our home and teach them. I was the headmaster.”
In 2002, he would travel 10km to get to his own school – 8km by bus and 2km by foot. He would then collect local children on the way back and teach these children in his backyard.
“My school started with eight children and my sister was my first student. First I saw it as a game but then it became my passion, and the number of students started to increase.”
This passion wasn’t without its difficulties, though.
“I did not give up. I fought tooth and nail and when I founded this school, parents were very sceptical about educating their children. They were not educated themselves so they did not realise the value of education. Initially, we had 60 percent girls and 40 percent boys. We went door-to-door to send their kids to school.”
Today, the school has developed distinctly, with around 500 regular students. There’s also a proper roof over the students head, after moving out of Ali’s garden. “Now my students are starting in college. Some of them are now teaching at my school.”
In the future, he’s hoping to extend the education beyond the schooling level. “My dream is to extend it to college in the future.”
“Go on bravely. Do not expect success. Now I am convinced nothing can stand against conviction. You just need courage and honesty.”
And the school motto? “We must do something extraordinary in this short human life.”
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
