The First College Student from his Village returns to give others an education
Khuma Ram was born to farmers earning about $0.35 a day, and no one in his family had ever been to school. Fortunately, one of Seva Mandir’s 173 primary schools had opened in his remote village, and after two years there he attended out learning Camp, a crash course in basic maths and literacy that prepares children to enter the public education system.
Given the opportunity, Khuma Ram seized it. He enrolled in public school, graduated, moved back to Mumbai, and then, defying expectations once again, moved back to his village and the Seva Mandir classrooms he had left 13 years earlier, this time as the teacher. Khuma explains himself simply: ‘I have received Seva Mandir’s help throughout my life. I would never turn down a job from them.’
Today, Khuma Ram continues to teach with Seva Mandir while studying part-time for his B.A. His story is an example for the 10,000 first generation students in our schools, and speaks to the deeper change we are nurturing across 700 villages, including a demand for quality education and a commitment to public service.