“Dropped the Axe, Picked the Pen”

Objective:

To provide access to secondary education amidst conflict and infrastructural challenge, and to promote sustainable environmental conservation and improved livelihoods.

All children in the villages within the Bhimbandh area should achieve at least matriculation and build a better future.

They should abandon manual labor (“leave the axe”) and embrace education (“take up the pen”), while inspiring their siblings to pursue schooling.

Description:

The programme operates a rudimentary but vital community school in the remote Bhimbandh Sanctuary area, notorious for its Naxal-affected status. Simultaneously, it champions agro forestry, organic farming, and natural resource management among local tribal families.

The forested and hilly area is heavily affected by Naxalite activities. Following the assassination of SP Surendra Babu by Naxals in 2005, movement of both residents and government officials came to a complete halt, leading to a standstill in development efforts. To this day, electricity has not reached villages such as Gurmaha, Musaharitand, Bichla Tola, Jamuniya Tand, and Chormara. Among these, three villages still lack access to clean drinking water, forcing residents to rely on river water. The absence of a high school in the area disrupts the education of all children. Additionally, institutional deliveries are rare due to the remote location of the nearest hospital, there is no Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) posted locally, and although a Health Sub-Centre (HSC) has been sanctioned in Gurmaha village, it is yet to be operational.

Key Challenges:

  • Inaccessibility due to forest terrain and security risks limits service delivery. Due to the long distance, approximately 20 to 25 kilometers, and the difficult forest terrain, children find it challenging to attend the government High School.
  • Lack of electricity, potable water, and health infrastructure holds back community development.
  • Children must traverse long distances (12-15 km) often on foot to reach schooling. A school exists in the Bhimbandh area; however, education is only provided up to the 8th standard.
  • There is no Health Sub-Centre available in the Bhimbandh
  • Neither an ASHA worker nor an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) is posted in this

Key Activities:

  • Running the school in temporarily shaded hut structure with locally funded teaching staff and facilities.
  • Encouraging community engagement in tree planting and soil
  • Facilitating irrigation and crop diversification

Key Achievements:

  • 45 children studying regularly with resources and
  • Nearly 30 children registered for matriculation under BBOSE for the first time in their community.
  • Distribution of 30 bicycles: Thirty children have been given bicycles to help them travel the 12 to 15 kilometers distance to school to overcome distance barriers.
  • 45 students received free textbooks, notebooks, and pens to support their
  • Renewed community enthusiasm for education and environmental stewardship. A new hope for education has emerged in the villages, and parents have begun actively encouraging their children to attend school.