Against all odds, despite all obstacles, hope is what helps sail through tough times…ย
Twenty-year old Sushant Dehury is an embodiment of grit and determination when it comes to breaking the vicious cycle of poverty & carving a better life for his family and himself.
Sushant and his three siblings were born and raised in Kanjiajharan a small hamlet in Keonjhar district of Odisha.
They belong to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Paudi Bhuyan community.
Belonging to a landless family, education was a distant dream for the family.
This family & the entire community still have aย ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒย & they eke out a living by cultivation, gathering forest produce & sparsely available labor work.
With a meager & below subsistence level living condition, the villagers do not have access to road connectivity, electricity & other basic amenities of life.
As a matter of fact, the villagers have little connection with the outside world. And to add to their woes, the area is also Naxal infested.
Back in 2009 ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐น (๐จ๐๐), a partner NGO ofย India Literacy Projectย introduced learning program for children in informal setting called ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ญ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ด๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐๐-๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฟ๐๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฒ.
Currently, the Bridge Centre has 32 children who have been enrolled in different schools & hostel-based schools.
What is amazing is that ๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐๐น๐น๐ ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ.
As a result, 8 children (5 boys & 3 girls) have completed matriculation between the year 2018 – 2020.
When the UAC bridge Centre opened in 2009 it became a ray of hope for the village kids.
Sushant, being a committed boy in the hamlet, completed his matriculation securing 58% in 2019 & subsequently got 73% in +2 exam in 2021.
It’s a matter of pride that Sushant is now pursuing +3 Arts at Charigarh Mahavidyalaya, Telkoi.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ถ๐บ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐.
Sushant is today a role model for all the children in not only Kanjiajharan hamlet but also nearby hamlets.
