THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tribals in Anakaal, the only group of Kani tribals who shun any kind of development, have agreed to send their children to school from the coming academic year. It took nearly five months of persuasion by the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU), and the volunteers it had roped in, to convince parents in Anakaal, the settlement that is farthest from civilisation in the capital district, the importance of education. Not all parents have agreed and so only six kids below the age of 12 will attend school.
Two of them, brothers, are differently-abled; one had lost his right hand to fire and the younger was born with unformed legs. Since going to school from the settlement is virtually impossible, as it involves walking through dense forests for nearly an hour daily to reach a place where an all-terrain vehicle could transport them to a school some 14 kms away, all these kids will be put in hostels in Kottoor and Vellanad. The siblings will be lodged in Care Home for Differently-Abled Children in Alapuzha.
The DCPU had used a 10-day vacation camp in Podiyam settlement within Peppara forest to lure children, and through them, their parents. The camp was conducted in two phases, in the first phase children above the age of 14 in all the 27 settlements in the forest took part and the second phase was for the younger ones. The camp was mostly fun and games, and good food. Still, two kids from Anakaal who had participated in the first phase went back to their settlement from the second day, and their parents did not bother to send them back either.
However, a team led by district child probation officer K.K. Subair continued their forays deep into the forest to repeatedly talk to tribal parents. Except for those in Anakaal, the others were willing to send their kids to the camp. Anakaal tribals wanted to stay true to their roots. “Our ancestors have taught us what we should do. They have never mentioned about education,” said Mathan Kani, the tribal leader in the area. He feared that education would undermine their traditional skills.
