By Our Special Correspondent
SHILLONG, Nov 28: Located about 150 km from Shillong in West Khasi Hills is a forgotten hamlet – Pyndengmawlieh.
Shann Fanwar, born in Sohra and brought up partly in India and the Caribbean and later settled in the US had this deep calling to do something for his people back home in Meghalaya.
Every time he visited Shillong he sensed the need for a good school, not in Shillong or its vicinity but where rural folks can benefit. He and his team of young people whose education he supported and who he calls his ‘children’ began to scout for land to build a school.
It is sheer luck that he met with someone from the Mawsor clan in Pyndengmawlieh, West Khasi Hills, very close to Shallang and they parted with six acres of land for the school.
As soon as the land deal was firmed up Fanwar started his fund raising project in the US. He cycled from Maryland where he lives to different places to raise funds for the school. It was a tough rise over several areas and he was not keeping the best of health but that did not deter him.
When sufficient funds were collected Fanwar started the construction work for the 4-storeyed building in 2024 and the school has been functioning since March this year in the ground floor with classes Nursery to Class 2.
Fanwar says, “The school is in honour of my father, a missionary and educator. It is work in progress and we will raise the classes every year since the construction work is going on simultaneously. The playground has to be developed and there is still a lot of work to be done but my wife Mariko is as committed as I am to make this school a model for quality education in rural Meghalaya.”
A smiling Mariko nodded vigorously as she attended to a kid who wanted something to eat. She was distributing goodies to the children on their last day at school.
Mariko, a Japanese lady, has been the supporting pillar in this venture. She does more than her share in helping to realise Shann Fanwar’s vision. Currently both Fanwar and Mariko are in Shillong. They were present to give out the results to the students on November 25 last. The parents of the students were all present to receive their children’s report cards.
“The school currently has six teachers who have shown incredible commitment to teach the kids, leaving behind the comfort of their homes,” Fanwar said, adding that there is also need to raise funds for their salaries as the fees charged from students are nominal.
The kids have to walk two to three kilometers to the school and back but they are a happy lot and their parents are keen to educate them despite their apparent lack of resources. This correspondent spoke to the parents and asked them what they did for a living.
“We are broomstick farmers. Nothing else grows here,” the women carrying their little kids on their backs said. This is apparent as broomstick is the only plant seen in the hills and dales.
While the Indian Constitution makes it mandatory for the state to educate its citizens this happens in the breach.
Many schools in this country have been started and supported by philanthropists, else many young people would have remained illiterate.
Education, it is said, creates opportunities for young minds not only to earn their livelihoods but to become informed citizens of a democracy and to develop critical thinking.
Fanwar Academy is trying to do just that – to empower the young in a distant village to walk in step with their peers in the city – a noble vision of a man of faith and a partner who walks in step with him.
