Nagpur: When Raju Kendre’s 27-year-old began preparation for the September trip to England as a scholar Chevening, he could not hold back to see a long trip starting from the small village of Pimpri (Kharah) in Buldhana District, about 500 km from Mumbai.
Born in a poor agricultural family with limited options, it is the Kendre Obsession by getting higher education which encourages it through many obstacles that come.
Chevening scholarship is the highlight of its involvement in improving the tribal community, especially in Maharashtra, through the Eklavya Foundation.
“Just like Eklavya (from ‘Mahabharata’) focused on its aim and acquiring skills regardless of obstacles, I want tribal youth to realize their potential and reach a greater height,” Kendre said, who is currently in the Yavatmal district.
Parents Kendre, who is a follower of Poet-Saint Tamaram and Warkari movement, always want him to have good education.
“I finished basic education at the ZP school, after that I shifted to Buldhana City.
Even though a small town, it was a cultural surprise for me because my life had revolved around our small village,” Kendre said.
Age 27 years old academically cleared the medical entrance exam after STD XII and qualified for dental studies.
“I checked college in Pune but it was always disturbed by the inferiority complex.
Feeling that I would not be able to match the city youth, I did not bring it further.” Kendre was doing a “lack of guidance” at this time in his life.
“You need someone to guide and empower you.
That was what Eklavya Foundation did with the tribal youth; it runs on the trip with them.” He finally chose BA from the State Open University.
The turning point in his life came in 2011-12, when Kendre began his relationship with the organization working in the poor Melghat region in Vidarbha.
“I joined as a volunteer and finally worked full time for two years.
That’s when I realized that the conditions in this region were far worse than in remote villages in my home district.” In 2014, he signed up for the PG course in the Tata Institute Of Social Sciences (Tiss) but resting the following year for robbery becomes political.
“We started ‘village transformation movements’ with several young people and encouraged them to oppose local agency polls,” Kendre said.
He added, “I opposed Pancayat polls in my hometown and my manifesto was written on stamp paper, to formalize my promises.” While he lost the poll and returned to Tiss to complete his course, Kendre said the independent young man had begun to fight and win the poll there now.
After fainting from the network, Kendre’s Tryst with Yavatmal began in 2017.
He was awarded the fellowship of the office of the Minister of Chief and came to Yavatmal to plan and implement a social development scheme.
“That’s how Eklavya Foundation was born, where we prepared youth from the community of marginalization for entrance examinations and guiding them for acceptance to various universities.” Empowered by his guidance, around 125 tribal students were pursuing higher education in India.
Every year the Eklavya Foundation brings students like that under its wings so that no students have faced “lack of guidance” by Kendre, a decade ago.
When the countdown to the English trip began, Kendre was sure he would not be the last of the Eklavya family.
“I told the Chevening interview panel that even if I didn’t work, there would be at least 10 Eklavya who would.”