INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SHAMBHUNATH, OCTOBER 2Nine-year-old Satish Sada of the Musahar settlement in Shambhunath Municipality in Saptari
district did not go to school
Although the school nearby is at a distance of about 500 metres from his home, he would spend time playing at home, but did not go to school
Now, he has started going to school with textbooks and exercise books.
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Nowadays, the routine of 11-year-old Ashok Sada from the same
He is enrolled in Buddhilal Munar Secondary School near his home
Not only Satish and Ashok, children of the Harawacharawa and Musahar communities, that are extremely backward, are lately getting attracted
to education.Until a few years ago, only a very small number of Musahar children would go to school.
These days the number
of Musahar children going to school has shot up
The municipality is predominantly populated by the Harawacharawa and Musahar communities
The Musahar children of Saptari's Shambhunath Municipality-7, 2, 3 and 5 have started going to school regularly.The number of school-going
age Dalit children is increasing following free child tuition classes as part of the educational campaign launched by the Sripurraj
Community Development Centre targeting the children of the Harawacharawa families in the municipality
Three years ago, the number of school-going age children from the Harawacharawa and Musahar communities was just 12.The number has now shot
up to over 300 after the SCDC launched awareness campaign, organised parents meetings and conducted free child classes under the project of
'Empowerment of Harawacharawa through Social Mobilisation and Education' with assistance from 'The Freedom Fund', an international
non-profit organisation, said Arjun Sada of the Harawacharawa Shambhunath Town Children Club.Until a few years ago, the children of these
communities would spend their days in sports rather than studying
But they are gradually getting attracted to reading and writing following free child classes."Until a few years ago, only a small number of
children from the Harawacharawa and Musahar communities would attend classes
Now their number is increasing," he said.Parents in the communities were reluctant to send their children to school maybe because they
lacked awareness of the importance of education, said Arahuliya Sada of Mohanpur, adding, "But now the children of the Musahar have started
There is awareness among parents that their children should get an education."Recalling that although he wanted to study, his parents got
him married in his childhood, he said, "Now, that situation is slowly disappearing." The parents of the Harawacharawa and Musahar families
are also gradually becoming responsible.Now, more than 200 children from these communities attend free child classes launched in the
municipality, said Lalu Prasad Ram, programme coordinator of the SCDC.A version of this article appears in the print on October 3, 2023, of
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://thehimalayantimes.com
