A residential school for deprived and underprivileged kids in a remote village in Purba Bardhaman got computers last week, thanks to an NGO.
Since its inauguration last Monday, the new “computer lab” has been the favourite spot for students at the Acharya Pramathanath Buniyadi Vidyalaya, in Kalanabagram village, around 140km from the heart of Kolkata.
The NGO gifted 10 computers, one printer-scanner, 10 desktop tables and 15 chairs to the school, which is run by a charity. The residential school has students from classes I to VIII. Most of the students come from “extremely poor” families, said teachers. Many of the students are orphans.
“Many students have only one parent, mostly daily wagers, who are unable to take care of their kids,” Pradeep Adhikari, the headmaster of the school, told The Telegraph.
The co-educational school has 70-odd students.
“The students are keen to learn. The computers have generated enormous interest already,” the headmaster said.
The NGO that donated the computers started as a bid to provide relief to the victims of a flood in Murshidabad in 2000. Now, Sabdarnagar Education and Welfare Society has a presence in several parts of Bengal.
“Computers are an integral part of education. We hope the machines stoke interest in these children,” said Kailash Pati Mandal, the founder-secretary of the NGO.
During the Covid pandemic, the NGO had distributed food in the shanties in Dum Dum and neighbouring areas. The volunteers also reached out to the Sunderbans to support the local population in the mangroves with food and clothes.