42 YO Arup Needs Your Help To Educate And Feed 150+ Poor Sabar Kids, Donate Generously

“These children call me baba (father). This is the best feeling - once I see them smiling and their happy faces, everything seems worth it. The hard work, the struggle - everything. They now have a place where they belong and are getting the guidance they need. These children deserve a life full of happiness and opportunities. I want to give them nothing less,” - Arup Mukherjee, Founder, Puncha Nabadisha Model School.  

This 42 YO Kolkata Police constable has dedicated his life for the betterment of the Sabar children. He started his initiative in 2011 and today runs the residential facility solely with his savings, salary and the occasional help from good samaritans. 

What is special about Arup’s school? 

Situated in a remote village of Purulia district of West Bengal, Arup Mukherjee’s Nabadisha Model School is home to over 150 students from the Sabar community. The Sabars belong to a Dalit tribe who were branded criminals by the British under the Criminal Tribes Act 1871. They are a community who are found mainly in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and in a few parts of Odisha and West Bengal.  Their lives have been mostly unchanged, even after the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 got repealed in 1952.They are a forest-dwelling tribe, and even in present times, they are only allowed to live within the forest department's area. 

What started in 2011 with 20 students in two rooms and a verandah, has blossomed into nine rooms, a separate kitchen, classrooms, CCTV cameras, a separate washroom and toilet, all spread over 13 kathas of land or 9,000 sq ft. The school provides lodging, food, education, clothes, uniforms and educational material to the kids, all free of cost.

“All throughout my childhood, I have heard that the Sabars are the miscreants. They’re always stealing or doing something illegal. I was surprised - how could a group of people just live by stealing? Later my grandfather told me that they don’t have any education and so no jobs as well. They’re forced into this. Since then I have always wanted to do something for them.”  

He joined the Kolkata Police in 1999. He saved money and borrowed some, and finally started the school, with the donation of a plot by a local person. 

This school is a respite from ostracization  

Nabadisha is more than a school to these children - it’s a home for so many of them who have been abandoned by their families. Here they get all the basic necessities as well as the love and affection that everyone craves for.  

“People treat them as untouchables. It is heartbreaking to see them suffer like this for no fault of theirs. Over the past few years, this school has produced around 500 literates; so many of them are even pursuing college. The crime rate in the area has dropped too. All of them point in one direction - Nabadisha is helping them fight a better life.” 

Arup needs your help to continue his good work 

Despite Arup’s best intentions, he is unable to fulfill all the needs of the school and the children. The asbestos roof is leaking and it becomes very difficult to stay there during the heavy downpour. The children also need stationery and Arup is struggling to provide that. He also wants to give them warm, nutritious meals - with your help, he will get groceries, stationery and construction materials for Nabadisha school.  

Even a small contribution will make a big difference for these kids who deserve to have a better and brighter future. 

About the NGO: Started in 2011 by Arup Mukherjee, Puncha Nabadisha Model School is home to over 150 students from the Sabar community. The school provides lodging, food, education, clothes, uniforms and educational material to the kids, all free of cost.