Thiruvananthapuram: Last year when the Project Shine team provided coaching for Sainik School Kazhakkoottam entrance exam for kids from tribal hamlets in Palakkad district, little did they expect that one of the lucky ones who enrolled in the sixth grade would pay his Gurudakshina in six months.
B. Sivakumar who originally belonged to the Attapadi tribal hamlet had a harrowing time when he came back home during Christmas holidays. His parents were not keen to take him as they were separated and now living with other partners.
When Project Shine convener Babu Mathew offered to take the 11-year-old to his home at Piravom in Ernakulam, he was upset all the more as he was longing to be in his roots. But when two of the facilitators, V. N. Shanish and M. Z. Nikhil, at the 'Project Shine' camp in Attapadi, offered to take him in, he reluctantly joined them.
But for the next ten days, he took over the responsibility of taking care of the 100 tribal children who are preparing for the Navodaya Vidyalaya and SSK entrance exams scheduled for Jan 8 and Jan 15 respectively.
“The two facilitators took him around. Together they visited Sivakumar’s relatives and on Christmas day he returned to the coaching camp. The next one week he went around looking after the younger ones from his community - teaching them, helping us, looking after the entire activities of the camp like a real professional,” said Mr Mathew.
"Sivakumar had 100 siblings when his family disowned him."
Sivakumar could spend time with Brig P.K. Sunilkumar of the 84 batch, Jelin K. Thampi of the 87 batch and Maj Gen V.N. Prasad (Retd) of the 74 batch who visited the training camp.
Finally, on Dec 13, he along with the team of facilitators trekked the local Abannoor hills and returned to his school on New Year.
He was a happy soul by the time his school re-opened on Jan 3 and had got over the mental trauma inflicted by his parents.
