No deed is lesser, and no profession stops you from doing good. An orange vendor from Karnataka has exemplified this. He has been conferred with Padma Shri because he built an entire school for the poor children in his village with his earnings.
Named Harekala Hajabba, the man is a very ordinary orange fruit seller at Newpadapu village in the Indian state of Karnataka. He is also referred to as ‘Akshara Santa’, which means the Saint of Letters or, here, education.
Harekala never got the opportunity to go to school, but his fascination for education has finally brought him India’s Highest Civilian Award.
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It all began in 1984 when Hajabba met a foreign tourist couple who asked him the price of an orange in English. But he did not know the language, so he failed to answer them, and the couple then went away. This incident made Hajabba realize the importance of schooling, and he set out to help the new generation get educated.
Yet nothing came easy. The villagers ridiculed him, and his wife was furious because he could not provide three meals to the family while saving for his dream school.
President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Shri Harekala Hajabba for Social Work. An orange vendor in Mangalore, Karnataka, he saved money from his vendor business to build a school in his village. pic.twitter.com/fPrmq0VMQv
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 8, 2021
It is stated that he makes about Rs.150 per day by selling oranges. He used to camp outside the Zilla Panchayat office and repeatedly pleaded with the officials to formalize the education, and he was heard.
With his savings for over 15 years and government funds and donations from individuals, he started a primary school with 28 students in a Madrassa (Muslim educational institution) in 1999. Gradually more kids joined the school, and he began taking loans for expansion and resorted to using all his savings to buy land for the school.
Today the school is known as Hajabba School where there are about 175 students in classes up to the 10th standard.
Even today he sweeps the premises and boils water for the students to drink.
Life Beyond Numbers salutes his determination and service.