Ranjani Raghavan
After fourth standard, Vasave took the tests for the Maharashtra Governments scheme for the youth, Krida Prabodhini, and got through. Now, Aemsha Vasave, all of 16, lean and shy, is slated to participate in the Commonwealth Youth Games to be held in Pune next year along with two other jeevan shala alumini brothers Bhim Singh Vasave and Gulab Singh Vasave. Since 2002, when the first jeevan shala product made it through the Krida Prabodhini scheme, 13 students have been selected under this scheme from here, including the six that study in Balewadi now.
Before that we did not know about these schemes that were on offer, said Vijay Walave, who was among the first in the community to excel in sports as a marathon runner. In these regions where survival is the first concern, sports has made inroads and Walave has been credited by the NBA activists for creating this new crop of sporty children.
When I started out I did not even know how to work out. I picked up things by imitating others. But I had a passion for fitness and sports. It was only in college in Malegaon when I took to running marathons that a teacher spotted some talent in me and sent me to Pune for a camp in 2002 where I finally picked up fitness and workout techniques, said Walave.
After returning to Malegaon, Walave started training the young ones coming from the jeevan shalas. Earlier, I took care of their admissions and boarding. Then I started training them in fitness and sports helped them with the Krida Prabodhini tests. The 13 that have cleared this exam from our jeevan shalas have all trained with me, said Walave.
Two among them are 15-year-olds Sonya Vasave and Rajesh Padvi who made the journey with Aemsha from Nandurbar to a high school in Malegaon to a Krida Prabodhini in Aurangabad and finally to the Balewadi Krida Prabodhini.
All of them have participated in national sport events previously. The three slated to participate in the youth commonwealth games next year have to keep performing well in the forthcoming events before they are allowed at the Games. But that is not what deters them. There is a little tension because of what is happening back home. We keep in touch with our villages over phones and through Vijay (Walave), said Rajesh Padvi. Last year Dhanel and some other villages were submerged when the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam was raised. Eight Jeevan shalas went into the water with them.
The three of them have resolved to go back to their villages after they finish with their Class XII. We want to use our education to serve the people there, said Aemsha. All of them want to go back home. Two out of the 13 have already returned to the valley, said Walave. But Aemsha has his work cut out. We will definitely win, he said.
URL : http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/NBAs-schools-of-life-provide-new-meaning-to-tribal-childrens-life/222946/