Mysore, June 28 (Inditop.com) Her day begins on an unusual note. Kalasamma, head of a village council in Karnataka, goes from door to door to ensure that all the children there are going to school.
This is the routine that Kalasamma, 33, a school dropout herself, has been following for the last four years. Her Heggadapura village is located in Mysore district, about 150 km from Bangalore.
Till Kalasamma got elected to the village council and also became its head in 2005, parents in Heggadapura preferred to send their children to work as domestic helps to various towns and cities of Karnataka.
Once she became the gram panchayat chief, Kalasamma decided that all the children of the village must have access to education. “Initially, I met with a lot of resistance from the parents,” Kalasamma told IANS at her village.
“Their argument was that for poor families, children help in earning money. They were right in their own ways, but my point was that all children have a right to education and they should not be denied the right,” Kalasamma said.
She had to drop out of school after completing Class 10 due to a personal tragedy, she said.
“I did a lot of counselling of the parents to bring their children back home and help them to attend schools. In some of the cases, we also took the help of the police to rescue the children from the clutches of owners employing the little ones,” added Kalasamma, sporting a red cotton sari.
The result is all the 140 children and youngsters of the village now go to school.
“Heggadapura is a model village as far as education of children is concerned. All the children of the village are going to school,” Yamuna, a member of Mysore-based Organisation for the Development of People (ODP), an NGO working in Heggadapura for women empowerment, told IANS.
“Moreover, because of the initiative of bringing education to the children, the practice of child labour too has ended from the village. Credit goes to Kalasamma.”
Now, 100 children from the village are attending classes up to seven in the Heggadapura Middle School. The remaining 40 go to a school in Heggada Devana (HD) Kote, five km from Heggadapura.
Shivamma, 18, who is studying in Class 12 at the HD Kote Government High School, gives credit to Kalasamma for helping her pursue education.
“After clearing my Class 7, I was forced to work as a domestic help for a year. It was because of the effort of Kalasamma that I rejoined school and am pursuing my education. I want to become a teacher after completing my post-graduation,” smiled Shivama.
Chikkanna, 20, a native of Heggadapura who has recently completed his graduation from Government Junior College, HD Kote, lauded the effort of Kalasamma.
“After finishing my schooling, my education too was interrupted for a brief period, as I too was working as a domestic help in Mangalore. Then Kalasamma persuaded my parents to allow me to resume studies. My parents agreed and I fulfilled my dream of becoming a graduate,” said Chikkanna.
Kalasamma is modest and not ready to take any credit for the success story of the village. She cites the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act which reserves one-third of the seats in gram panchayats for women.
“I myself was a school dropout. I was also a daily wage earner. But after winning elections in 2005, I decided specifically to work for the education of children. I want all to be educated and help the village grow and prosper,” smiled Kalasamma, a mother of three children.
Till date, Kalasamma has rescued 60 village children who were working as domestic helps in various parts of the state and sent them to school.
Prasad Mohan, a village elder, was happy with the way things have shaped up in the village in the last few years.
“Kalasamma is sincere and dedicated. Being a woman helps her understand problems better and she tries to solve them also. It is heartening today that all the children of the village are going to school. This has happened only due to her efforts,” said Mohan.
Reservation of seats for women in panchayats has brought good changes at the grassroots in Karnataka. Women leaders are working on education, health and sanitation at the grassroots level. Out of 90,000 panchayat heads in Karnataka, 39,000 are women.
rounak