Nabarangpur: Constable Debendra Samarath from Karchamal village under Koshagumuda block in Nabarangpur district is a graduate and CT degree holder.
Samarath later qualified to become a constable in the Excise Department of Nabarangpur and is currently posted at Kodinga.
Interestingly, he has been taking out time out from his regular routine to teach poor students of his locality for the last three years. Samarath says he ensures that no child should get deprived of education for lack of money for which he is making efforts to teach the poor children free of cost.
As many as 70 children are getting benefitted from the free classes of Samarath.
Samarath joined the Excise Department but was always trying to find a way out to give back to the society. Finally, he decided to translate his thoughts into action and started teaching the children after returning home from office at night.
He prepares himself before taking the classes and has also been teaching the children even on holidays without taking a rupee from them. As a constable, he draws a little salary but that does not deter him from spending a part of it for the education of the children. He spends about 10 per cent of his salary in buying study materials and kits for the deprived students.
Samarath said that he has gone through hardship in his life as a fruit shop was the only means of livelihood of his family. He was interested to go for higher studies but had to drop the idea due to lack of money.
Later, he thought that no children should get deprived of education for money and decided to teach the poor children in his area. A youth Premchand Bhatra who is a fellow villager and holds a BA BEd degree assists him in teaching the children.
He has been teaching the children in an under-construction house of villager Sitaram Pujari due to lack of a proper house to teach the children. Villagers have praised Samarath for the noble initiative which he has been doing in the best interests of the children.
When contacted, his father Gobinda Samarath said that he is proud of his son for teaching the poor children. Besides, his move has drawn wide appreciation from various quarters as he became an example for others to emulate.
PNN