“We are tribals and we are proud of that,” says Rejini, who hails from Wayanad. Rejini, along with a few other coordinators, is enabling around 200 students from various tribal communities of Kerala access education through the Adishakthi summer school.
The summer school, an initiative of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha, is being held in Maharajas College in Kochi from May 20 to 23. The summer school is held with the main aim of promoting continued education and higher educational ambitions among the tribal students. However, the students are getting a lot more from the summer school which is being conducted for the fifth consecutive year.
“Before I first came to the summer school four years ago, it was not possible for me to even face a person and speak up. But now, I am one of the coordinators of the programme,” says Rejini, adding that this is the best way to describe the growth of the students who are a part of the summer school.
The Adishakthi summer school was started in 2015 at Aralam in Kannur district by the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha. Since then, the summer school has been conducted every year at various locations in Kerala.
Jishnu was a student of the summer school a few years ago, but now he is a coordinator of the programme, like Rejini. “The summer school made me realise the significance of being an Adivasi. We know that there is nothing to be ashamed of to openly say that we are from the tribal community,” says Jishnu, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram.
The main activities of the camp, apart from sessions on higher educational possibilities, include lectures on self reflection of the Adivasi identity, sessions on theatre and tribal songs to explore the Adivasi heritage and culture. The students are also given training in spoken English. They get opportunities to interact with various social activists too.
“When I first came here, I was a higher secondary dropout student. It was after I was inspired by the people here that I attempted to clear the exams. Now I hold a diploma degree in civil engineering too. But since I found that it is not my interest area, I shifted to pursue my passion. Now I am studying in Pattanam Rasheed Makeup Academy,” Jishnu explains.
From Class 4 students to those pursuing their post-graduation, this year’s camp saw the highest turnout when compared to the previous years. The students are mentored by various volunteers from student collectives and tribal activists.
Most of the students hail from socially weaker tribal communities like Paniyar, Kattunayakan, Ulladan and Kurumbar.
Challenges
Though the students are happy and secure in the summer school, the organisers are having a tough time to meet the expenses of the camp. They are solely funded by a few kind individuals, and do not receive any financial aid from the government.
“The Scheduled Tribes Development Department give us moral support for the initiative. They give their recommendation when it comes to arranging a venue for the programme and things like that, but we have many financial challenges as well. It costs around Rs 1 lakh for transportation charges alone and a total cost of about Rs 3 lakhs to run the programme, which includes the food and accommodation of the students. We are managing with the aid given by some kind hearts,” says Mary Lidiya, a PhD scholar and one of the coordinators of the programme.
The team is also making use of social media to crowd source funds for the programme. “Because of the programme’s success over the past years, more and more students from different tribes in the state have come this time. We are happy with the result, but we need help from everyone to continue this initiative,” says Lidiya.
Apart from the yearly summer school, the team also supports the education of tribal students by providing hostel facilities and other financial aid.