Baishya: education & electricity solution

Bally (Kolkata)-based software engineer SAPTARSHI BAISHYA (25) is founder-promoter of the Maitreyo Foundation (MF, estb.2019) which runs Maitreyo Paathshala, a learning centre that provides free-of-charge education to children of the Birhor tribe, in Bersha village located in West Bengal’s Purulia district.

Newspeg. In January this year, MF signed a partnership agreement with the state government managed Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia. Under the agreement, faculty and students of the university’s botany department will visit Bersha village periodically to provide seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural resources to Birhor farmers to practise organic farming. This sustainable development project is funded by the Central government’s Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) initiative to empower India’s tribal communities.

Moreover, following a series of parleys with state government officials over the past year, Baishya and his team have negotiated an agreement to electrify Bersha village before Durga puja (October 11). “Lack of electricity has hampered teaching-learning of first-generation learners in Bersha. It is also the primary cause of rampant alcoholism in the village. We expect a tangible lifestyle change once the village is powered by electricity,” says Baishya.

History. An engineering graduate of the West Bengal University of Technology employed with Tata Consultancy Services since 2018, Baishya started volunteering for community service projects while in college. In 2018, he chanced upon a Facebook post on the deprivations of the Birhor tribe. Following further research, he discovered the tribe is classified under 75 known Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups of India, and one of three settled in West Bengal’s Purulia district. Moved by their abject poverty, Baishya promoted Maitreyo Foundation in 2019.

Direct talk. “MF was established to empower illiterate Birhor adults with sustainable development skills and to bridge the learning gaps of their children, who usually drop out of government school by class IV. Maitreyo Paathshala has designed an innovative curriculum that encour[1]ages creativity, critical thinking and develops children’s life skills. To deliver the curriculum, we have appointed two local teachers to teach English, Bengali, maths and Olchiki — the local tribal dialect — as also poetry, drawing, dance, karate, farming, fishing, and environment studies. Moreover, all children are provided free-of-charge nutritious mid-day meals made from locally available ingredients,” says Baishya, who is currently funding the annual budget (Rs.1.2 lakh) of the foundation with donations from friends and family.

Future plans. Encouraged by the enthusiasm of children in neighbouring villages to enrol in Maitreyo Paathshaala, Baishya has expansion plans to include a new school building. “We are currently running classes in a revamped cow shed. A proper school for our children will add value to our ecosystem and we have begun fund-raising for the project,” he says.

God speed!

Baishali Mukherjee (Kolkata)