Small Steps Of Change
Avinash Nakat, a social worker started working for the welfare of farmers since he was a child. At the age of 16, he was arrested for being part of protests for the conditions of farmers. “I grew up in a small town and have witnessed struggle of farmers. I always wanted to serve and contribute towards their betterment. Therefore, I am doing my bit for the betterment of society.” Nakat has been working with Yuvarashtra, an NGO that works for the welfare of farmers and their families. In addition to helping farmers market their goods and improve their farming methods, he aids families of farmers who have committed suicide with alternate sources of incomes, such as making incense sticks, papads, etc According to Nakat, his group of friends and him always helped people around them. With the passage of time, their commitment grew stronger resulting in the organization being formed. Apart from taking care of his business in Akola where he shifted base for work, he works actively for the NGO, which his wife was supportive about. On February 3, 2016, Nakat’s wife was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Till he could avail of better treatment, the cancer had damaged her brain cells, resulting in a hemorrhage.
Post the funeral rites, Nakat decided to redirect the money for customary rituals elsewhere. He decided to use the money for digitizing the district school in Tandli village where he had studied, before he moved to Akola to manage his business. Before settling in Akola, he studied in a District school in the village of Tandli. Each class had about 30-35 students. During his interaction with school authorities, he was made aware of the poor condition of the school. With farmers unable to afford high fees of private schools, only 5-10 students would attend the District school. A large numbers of villagers opposed his decision for not following custom rites, which they believed would lead to spiritual consequences. He continued to pursue his decision as he had the support from the parents of his late wife. After a few days of his wife’s death, he began work on the digitization of the school. The inauguration of ‘Digital School, Tandli’ was done on February 22, 2016. Approximately, rupees 1.5 lakhs was spent to digitize the school to benefit students, which instead would be incurred on customary practices.
Nakat considers most age-old traditions to be unrealistic. Families, who fall short of money to follow this ritual, are often compelled to take loans. He is of the idea that if people start using the money earmarked for this ritual in something useful the whole country will benefit. The NGO Yuvarashtra plans to digitize 25 more schools before the school term of 2016-17.
