Sahyadri Sanchaya shows the way in empowering tribal students in government schools of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka

Sahyadri Sanchaya operates in Uttara Kannada district where many government schools — mainly in Joida, Yellapura, Ankola, Haliyal, Dandeli and Mundugodu — lack basic facilities. A majority of students enrolled in these schools are from tribal communities — Siddi, Kudubi, Halakki and Gouli.

Students of Government Lower Primary School at Nevalase, in Ankola taluk of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka, still sit on the floor. Moisture makes it difficult for the students to sit on the floor during the rainy season. They do not even have a mat to spread on the floor. The school is about 40 k.m. from Ankola town. The government and the civil society members have not been able to arrange desks and benches for this small school catering to students from classes 1 to 5.

“Should this not be a matter of concern for all of us,” asks Dinesh Holla, an artist and convener of Sahyadri Sanchaya, a registered organisation of green activists, in Mangaluru. “Uttara Kannada has many such government schools. We, at Sahyadri Sanchaya, know at least 15 of them,” Holla told The Hindu.

Many government schools — mainly in Joida, Yellapura, Ankola, Haliyal, Dandeli and Mundugodu — lack basic facilities. A majority of students enrolled in these schools are from tribal communities — Siddi, Kudubi, Halakki and Gouli.

Holla, who is an avid trekker and also a kite maker and flyer, realised the poor condition of government schools and their tribal students while trekking in the Western Ghats. It was in 2006 that he began distributing education materials, such as note books, pencils, pens, bags, and slates, to students of one or two schools in Uttara Kannada district by dipping into his personal savings. “I began on June 15, my birthday,” the artist said.

Holla, as part of Team Mangalore, a group of kite flyers, began attending some international kite festivals from 2008. He began showcasing and selling some of his artwork at the international kite festivals, especially in France. “I invested 30% of the proceeds from the sale of artwork for distribution of education material to tribal students back home in Uttara Kannada,” he said.

As there was a need to cover tribal students in more schools, he explained the condition of students and schools to his trekking friends who also began contributing money.

The empowerment thus started more than a decade ago has now spread its wings thanks to the good support from like-minded donors and institutions.