Nisha Chettri

Kalimpong,7th May

A teacher’s post about a child’s torn shoe didn’t fail to emerge humanity out of many people of Kalimpong in the last few weeks where a watchdog journalist noticed the picture posted by the teacher in facebook which was followed by the news’ in the regional as well as national dailies the other day.

The condition of Additional Nepali Prathamik Pathshala of Zurranttee Tea State Mateli Block under Mal Bazaar Sub Division is still unpleasant for the region is badly hit by poverty and the people living there mostly comprise of tea-estate labors.

Distressed about the children’s absence in the school made Sachin Chamling Rai-a teacher of Nepali Prathamik Pathshala discover the reason of ‘torn shoes’ when he visited a student’s house to enquire about his lack of attendance in the school. The reason his (the child’s) parents gave undoubtedly shut Rai with apology.

He later posted about his emotions which got attached with the torn shoe episode where Anil Talaija, a reporter of Himalayan Darpan in the other hand started the campaign of black shoes after he wrote an article ‘Khai ta Boot Jutta’ (read where are the boots?) in his newspaper.

His choice to share his newspaper article it in the social media later hit many audiences’ hearts who immediately approached the author for sponsoring shoes and socks for the children.

Interestingly, the reporters who often work by leaving their emotions aside were also melted like a wax when they read the article boot-jutta.

However the translation of article was done by Mukesh Sharma another reporter who follows Hindi lingo for being associated in Janpath Samachar-a Hindi national daily where many responses came from his friend circle when he posted about a campaign of P.T uniform and shoes in facebook.

Meanwhile Sachin Chamling Rai acknowledges the reporter’s humanity-drenched-hearts for they did not neglect the issue of the little children after writing it in their respective newspapers. In a social networking site he writes, ‘this is a victory upon selfishness and redefining duty, I thank my media friends for they did not stop after writing news and they fought it like it was their own battle.’

Supporting the Zurranttee mission, the reporters unanimously felt that the mother’s first chore is to open the Tiffin-box and check if it’s emptied by their offspring but the case of Prathamik Pathshala’s children was something odd, where everyone is now thankful to the government who was wise enough to introduce the midday meal scheme in schools.

‘We put our time to dress our son or daughter before their school hours and we spare our time to oil, comb their hair and polish their shoes but the children of Nepali Prathamik Pathshala was not fortunate to receive all that and that part of reality touched our heart which instantly made us decide the campaign and now its successful’ said one of the reporters.

By appealing people in facebook many things like, school uniforms, P.T uniforms, P.T shoes, black shoes, socks, sport items, pencils, bags, etc were collected, packed and sent to the required school where 60 students (boys and girls) study.

Now the reporters breathe in contentment and acknowledge all the sponsors who selflessly contributed things for the sake of the toothless smiles of Prathamik Pathshala’s children.