Harekala Hajabba, an orange vendor from Mangalore, built a primary school with his earnings of Rs 150 per day. On Monday, he received the Padma Shri award from President Ram Nath Kovind. He is a 68 year old fruit seller from Mangalore who scripted history and was appreciated for his efforts.
His Motive ?
Many years ago, when a foreign tourist asked him the price of an orange in English, he did not understand what had been said and felt embarrassed. He had not had the privilege of any kind of formal education. “That day I vowed to make a school,” he said.
According to a report in a leading daily, Harekala Hajabba’s village Newpadapu did not have a school for many years. All the village children were deprived of their right to education. Then, in 2000, Harekala Hajabba invested all his life savings and started a school on one acre of land. “I had never had the opportunity to access education, and I did not want the children in the village to suffer the same fate,” he added to a leading daily
President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Shri Harekala Hajabba for Social Work. An orange vendor in Mangalore, Karnataka, he saved money from his vendor business to build a school in his village. pic.twitter.com/fPrmq0VMQv
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) November 8, 2021
“Today, the school has 175 students with classes up to the 10th standard,” Harekala Hajabba told the news agency. It was announced in January 2020 that Harekala Hajabba would receive the Padma Shri award. However, the ceremony could not be held earlier due to the pandemic.
The Padma Awards have been presented in various fields, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service and so on.
Source : The Times of India
