Two years ago, when eight year-old Sahin left school, he had very little hope of ever walking in the corridors of education again. Sahin, like his elder brother, was resigned to spending his life working in the fields. But that was until he met Dr. Faruk Hossain Gazi. As a doctor, Gazi is used to saving lives on a daily basis, but his definition of what it actually means to save a life is much broader than his daily routine of administering medicines for a particular ailment. The 28-yearold from Khas Sankdaha, a remote village in North 24-Parganas, aims to change lives.

He has not only started a school, ‘Naba Diganta Mission’, for orphans and underprivileged children, but has also picked up at least 300 children from the fields and sent them back to school. “For children like Sahin, education is a luxury,” says Gazi, who works at a private hospital in Howrah. “Their families prefer to let them till the earth or work in a fishery, rather than attend school, as that would help them earn money, which is important for sustenance.” He also recalls the difficulties he faced initially and how he overcame them. “When I opened the school and asked the parents to send their kids to school, hardly anyone paid any heed. So, I started giving them food, clothes, books and everything they needed.

That inspired the kids and they started forcing their parents to send them to school.” Since Naba Diganta Mission was established in February 2014, children not only from Khas Sankdaha but also from 12 neighbouring villages, such as Sankardaha, Debitala, Sirishtala, Boyermari and Dhenkamari, have rushed there to change their lives. “Apart from giving them basic education, we also provide free medical aid, medical consultation and, in serious cases, provide free treatment. For this, we get support from the ‘Swasthyabroti Project’, which was initiated by Dr Koushik Chaki,” Gazi says.

In the last two years, two three-year-old kids — Imran Molla and Asma Khatun — with heart disorders are being provided treatment free of cost. “If needed, we will do operation free of cost,” Gazi said. “Swasthyabroti project is an initiative where we provide basic healthcare, medicines and regular check-ups to the residents of areas where medical facilities are absent,” says Koushik Chaki, a member of the project. “Gazi requested us to get associated with them, and we are happy to work with him. We set up a monthly camp, where doctors and nurses from various hospitals come and provide free treatment. Not only that, we also provide ECG training to young people of the villages and are planning to get them jobs. We are also trying to introduce ‘telemedicine’, where doctors, through teleconferencing with patients and volunteers, provide consultancy.

We are now in talks with an organization that will provide us with the technology.” With a little prodding, Gazi gets talking about his first steps in setting up the school. “One of my friends, Sk Nuruzzaman, gave me the land and I had Rs 4,00,000. I donated the money and built the school. After that, organizations like Human Care Foundation of Kerala and Human Welfare Foundation of New Delhi stood behind me. They provide the bulk for the kids’ education, but that’s not enough.

Sometimes we can’t even pay our teachers but they still come and teach. I need some money so that I can make this a Higher Secondary school. I don’t want students to suffer like me. I want to make this a good school that will cater to the needs of students of this area,” he says. Abdul Nazar, project coordinator, West Bengal chapter of Human Care Foundation, says: “We were already working in underprivileged villages of Bengal.

We adopt villages and provide them basic facilities like sanitation, education, home and micro-finance. Khas Sankdaha and the neighbouring villages are not directly adopted by us. We provide financial and technical support to Naba Diganta Mission so that they can carry on with their work. In the last two years, they have done commendable work and we have bigger plans for them.” Gazi’s life story reflects that of some of the kids he is working for.

Originally a resident of Khas Sankdaha, he was a meritorious student right from his childhood. Brought up extreme poverty, he had to walk 10km to reach school, Rajbari Agarhati Gourhari Vidyapith. “My father was a daily wage labourer and I had to depend on help from the school and neighbours to complete my madhyamik. After that, I went to Al Ameen Mission and completed my graduation and then my MBBS from Bankura Sammilani Medical College & Hospital.

I have seen poverty from childhood. It was my good luck that I became a doctor but there were many more who didn’t have this luck. It was dream to make a proper school in the locality so that students could have their education in the village,” he says. The young doctor has not only worked to help the children, but, in the last two years, has also brought at least 10,000 people of the neighbouring villages under medical cover. “The people in the villages hardly know about their diseases.

They mostly suffer from non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart-related ailments. I felt they lacked regular check-ups because the nearest hospital is a two-hour journey from here. I spoke to my doctor friends and the hospitals, and they agreed to conduct medical camps regularly,” Gazi says. At Naba Diganta Mission, there is a medical camp every month where doctors and nurses from various hospitals come and run checks on the village residents. Naba Diganta Mission has also imparted training for local girls, so that they can perform basic medical check-ups every week. “At least 100 girls, mostly from the minority & tribals community, have come forward for this purpose.

Most of those who cannot come regularly come once a week to perform check-ups of the village residents. This helps doctors to have an idea of each patient’s condition,” says Gazi’s wife Nilufa Parvin, who works for women empowerment. “The volunteers help us in different ways. They regularly go door-to-door and maintain a database of the villagers. This is like a ready reckoner and we can take action on the basis of the information collected by our volunteers.

If someone is ill, we can take him or her to hospital,” Parvin adds. “Whenever I say that I am going to Naba Diganta, my parents don’t stop me (from going there). Even if I am late, they call up Sir (Gazi) or Madam (Parvin) and ask whether I am here or not. This is where I can express myself and I feel very safe and secure. I want to teach the little children whatever little I know,” says Habiba Khatun, a village girl who is pursuing her graduation. Like Habiba, numerous bright students from the locality have come forward to work for this mission.

Ajanur Molla, who is pursuing graduation from a college in Kolkata. But whenever extra time he gets, he spends at the school. “I am in charge of child development and I maintain a log book where data pertaining to the children is stored. I monitor them continuously and if I find anything wrong, I inform Sir immediately,” Molla says. It still isn’t easy for Parvin or Gazi. “People in these areas still believe that women should stay indoors, behind a curtain. Working for the good of the society and community was something they could not think of. Parvin helped me a lot.

After my marriage in 2013, my wife and I went door to door to make people realize that we were doing something for the good of the people, and they would be benefited. Now, parents willingly send their daughters to us. I enjoy this social consciousness,” Gazi signs off.