Manipur
Nisarg Mitra
‘Nisarg Mitra Olympiad – 2023’ event was organized collectively by Educational Resource Centre Jnana Prabodhini, Natural Resources Department of Jnana Prabodhini and Special Purpose Group (Environment) Jnana Prabodhini Alumni Association. 30 students from Pau. Shankar School in Tamenglong district of Manipur participated. They needed to form teams of 2-3 students and work on a project for few months. The best projects from among participating students were given a prize. Details of top three award winning entries from two different schools are as below
| Prize No. | School Names | Project Subject |
| Pau Shankar Kane Vidyalay, Tamenglong | Useful products from bamboo | |
| Taste of Tradition: Zeliangrong Naga Community Cook Book | ||
| Pau Shankar Kane Vidyalay, Churachandpur district | Kuki Tribes Tasty Treasures |
| Mrs Ranjana Desai lead educational efforts in Manipur for this. Conducted 3 days teachers training at 3 PSVP schools. During the period of submission of the project, the situation in Manipur was extremely volatile due to riots. Internet service was disconnect. In such situation, these students and teachers travelled to borders of Manipur to find internet connectivity and share the project with assessment team of Jnana Prabodhini. |
Manipur Relief Work
Anant Allishe, Chief of Manipur Students’ Hostel, Solapur Centre, Jnana Prabodhini visited Manipur in April-May 2023 noticed dire situation in and around the migrant camps. Therefore, in August 2023 , Jnana Prabodhini collected warm clothes, which
were subsequently send to relief camps near Imphal. Similarly warm clothes and goods of daily necessities were provided to some relief camps near Churachandpur.
Accordingly an appeal was made for providing winter clothes and blankets to protect the Manipuri brothers & sisters living in camps from the bitter cold. Clothes and blankets weighing about 700 kg as detailed below were sent to relief camps.
- Thick cover – 515
- Thin covering – 172
- Sweater / Jerkin – 598
- Ear caps – 116
- Others (Muffler, Socks etc.) – 32
The days of Diwali are celebrated with great enthusiasm in Manipur. During Diwali, 100 kg of Diwali specific snacks were sent to Manipur relief camps. Association of Manupiri Diaspora(AMAND) helped Jnana Prabodhini in distributing snacks to appropriate relief camps near Imphal. Parents of students studying in Jnana Prabodhini Hostel for Manipur helped Jnana Prabodhini do this service near Churachandpur.
Hostel for Manipuri Students
A handful of flowers amidst storms.
Since April 2022, eight students from Manipur aged 8-12 are studying in a School in Solapur and staying in a hostel facility made available by Jnana Prabodhini Solapur. Every year these students go back to their villages for vacation during the months of April-May and return to Solapur. Hostel head, Anant Allishe who visited Manipur with the students and brought them back to Solapur after a month. Every year 5 students are added. At present 20 boys live in this hostel.
On 26th April 2023, Anant dropped the students to their respective homes but the situation over there suddenly worsened. It was very difficult to even travel let alone bring back the students to Solapur. Parents wanted their children to be away from the disturbances and continue with their education and Anant took risk to carry students back to Solapur. While he failed in his first attempt, he tried again in June and got back 10 students to Solapur using unusual means of travelling through a goods truck.
Among these students, four students were from Churachandpur district. The police there said, ‘We’ll bring the students in a police jeep, but we cannot guarantee their safety till the airport. Anant could not bring those four students back in the first trip.
He made a second attempt on 28th June . He travelled to Aizwal, in Mizoram and travelled 22 hours in a goods truck through dense forests to reach Churachandpur in Manipur. The students and parents were overwhelmed when they saw Anant coming to Churachandpur despite all hindrances. The parents, holding his hands, said, ‘You are their parents now, don’t bring them back until their education is complete.’ On their return journey, they were stopped twice by extremist organizations, but the students calmly reasoned with them in their mother tongue and got clearance for travel. The group successfully returned to Solapur with the children on 5th July 2023.
These students’ study at Gandhi Nath Rangji English Medium School in standard 5th, 6th and 7th. They are slowly picking up their competencies in school curriculum, some even scoring full marks in Maths test . To improve their academic performance, Jnana Prabodhini offers them special coaching at the hostel for Maths, Science, English, and Marathi. Additionally, Jnana Prabodhini also provides training in Music, Computer usage, Chess, and Sports.
Success in Sports
These students won first prize at the district-level Ball Badminton and Fotball tournament, the latter of which was organized by Saint Joseph School. One of the students, Ngaminlen was awarded with the best player trophy of the Football tournament
Music Class
Music teacher Sandeep Kulkarni trains students in various musical instruments. Students are required to practice music three times a week but they often practice even during their free time. They’re gradually becoming proficient in these instruments. On the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi, four groups performed Bhajans at four locations, and they participated in the Bhajan Program. They also performed Lingashtakam with instruments before Jagadguru Guru Siddhalingraj Shivacharya.
Bond with Solapurkars
To foster bonds between Solapur’s residents and our students, we celebrated Rakshabandhan, Diwali, and Makar Sankranti together. Seven Manipuri students visited seven host families for Rakshabandhan. The students were overwhelmed by the warmth. During Diwali, students stayed with different families, and had first-hand experience of traditions like Abhyang Snan, Lakshmi Puja, and fireworks. On Makar Sankranti, students distributed Tilgul in nearby apartments, touching the hearts of neighbors who blessed them.
Conclusion
These tribal and riot affected Manipuri students received special coaching in Maths, Science, English as well as in Music, Football, Computer usage, Chess, and Yoga in Jnana Prabodhini hostel. Jnana Prabodhini facilitates their overall development. Having escaped Manipur’s riots, these flowers are blooming, and one day their fragrance will fill our motherland.
Proposed Programs
- Multiple Skill Development workshops are planned in the state. During October 2024 to January 2025 first computer training program will start in the Tamenglong District. This will be a pilot batch to work with the computer lab establishment, Online teaching systems and to assess existing skill levels. Two Groups will conduct this pilot computer training program.
- Kiosk with educational content will be installed in a school.