Purushottam Patra, Gariaband. 60 year old Diwadhar Churpal village in Sargibahli village of Devbhog tehsil has been running a campaign to provide quality education to the children of the village for 10 years. This year, apart from 25 students studying in primary school, he is teaching three students of class 6th. Children lovingly call them ‘Aja’. ‘Aja’ classes are held twice a day, from 7 to 9 in the morning and from 5 to 6 in the evening. SC’s classes run regularly.
Elderly Diwadhar’s left leg is fractured due to falling from a bicycle a week ago, and his leg is in plaster. Despite this his classes did not stop even for a day. Classes are sometimes interrupted during rainy days, but Churpal’s dedication remains steadfast.
sacrifice and service
Diwadhar, who completed higher secondary in 1965, considered Gandhiji as his idol. In 1973, he was posted as a teacher in Nuaguda Primary School, but he left the job of a teacher and joined social service. Since he was from a village, he came into political limelight. Most of the front was not visible in the light. But the people affected by this brought him to the Panchayat body elections. In 1979, when he was elected Sarpanch of Usripani, he brought roads and electricity to the village. He contested the district elections in 1982 and till 1988, he remained the Vice President of Devbhog district. When contact with politicians like Shyama Vidya increased, while being the Vice President, he got schools opened in many villages across the river. Churpal also had a major contribution in establishing a high school in Jhakharpara. The entire tenure of Diwadhar Churpal remained undisputed. After retiring from political life, he has been teaching children for the last 10 years. Churpal says that he will continue to do the work of sharing education and knowledge till his last breath.
See this change
Even today, most of the students studying in government schools of the village do not have basic knowledge of alphabets, Pahada, Barahkhandi etc. But the children of Sargibahli village are better than the neighboring villages.
Inspired by the thoughts of Gandhiji, Diwadhar Churpal made education his priority and today his efforts are not only shaping the future of the village children, but have also become a source of inspiration for the society.