By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, March 3: Located about 150 km away from the state capital of Shillong and about 65 km from Nongstoin, the district headquarters of West Khasi Hills, at Pyndeng Mawlieh village off the Shallang-Riangdo-Tura highway, is Fanwar Academy a school to cater to the needs of people in that area.
The school, of which the ground floor is partially complete, is under construction. Land measuring about 6 acres was gifted by the Mawsor clan in what they felt would be a lasting contribution to the educational development of their area.
Fanwar Academy was inaugurated by Education Minister, Rakkam A Sangma on February 27. Also present was the MLA of Mawshynrut constituency, Methodius Dkhar and Adviser to the Government, HM Shangpliang.
On Monday, the Kindergarten section had started functioning and there was a parent-teachers introductory meet to familiarise the students and parents to the overarching purpose of the school and seek the cooperation of parents.
Fanwar Academy is the brainchild of Shann Fanwar of Sohra who is now a resident of the United States. Speaking to this correspondent, Fanwar said, “The concept for a school started in 2003 when I launched Fanwar Faith Inc. in the US. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I realized that I could not depend on employment for young people who are part of Fanwar Faith Inc. So in June 2021, I started to look for avenues for them to be engaged in,” Fanwar said adding that his sisters in the US and New Zealand and friends in the US have been helpful in raising funds for the school.
In fact, Shann Fanwar, an enthusiastic cyclist, raised funds through cycling to different states of the US. He also works through the Shillong-based Society, Fanwar Foundation. Fanwar’s wife, a Japanese lady Mariko, also supports the society and everything that is being done to help the school come up.
Shann Fanwar says he intends to gradually raise the Academy into a Higher Secondary school and later even into a College/University, incorporating technical and skills based training. In this endeavour, Fanwar says he has been in talks with Martin Luther Christian University for two years now.
Sharing a bit of his life story, Fanwar says, “I have never forgotten my roots. I have never forgotten my personal academic struggles, and I have learned to follow God’s leading in my life. It is not easy but He has never failed me and the overwhelming support of my immediate family, Mariko and my daughters and friends has helped to fructify this vision.
On Monday, the Academy gifted school bags to the little children. The classroom is not the conventional ones where kids are expected to sit and write or recite nursery rhymes but arranged in a manner where the kids could play since there are all kinds of toys including a slide inside the huge classroom.
A visit to West Khasi Hills indicates that schools are a huge need and one more school deep inside a village is the need of the hour. To manage the school, there are six teacher-counsellors whose education was supported by Shann Fanwar and his associates.
There are other good souls such as the late Jon Ingram Khonghat who passed away in 2024 who assisted Fanwar in the project. This is a project that has come up through the much-talked about “paying forward” model which is an individual who has come up in life the hard way, tries to help others in need to also come up by investing in a future for them.