Her fragile frame belies the steely grit that lies underneath. Having had no children of their own, Bibi Shabila Khatun, along with her late husband Serajul Haq adopted the cause of disabled children and opened the only school of its kind in the neighbourhood in their village, Karsahiyan. The Liyakat Serajul Viklang Awashiya Vidyalaya is a refuge to physically handicapped children, where apart from academics, they’re also taught self-reliance.
Simple village folk who tilled agricultural land for a living, Serajul worked upon divine intuition to start an institution to help disabled children. Wife Shabila vowed to support him all the way and sold off her gold ornaments to realise their dream. The school started in January 1991 and in no time at all boasted a strength of 107 children.
It wasn’t easy. "We were abused, harassed, called mentally unsound, ISI agents by people and politicians alike," says the sexagenarian Shabila. "Our relatives advised us to open a dal-chawal ki dukan instead."
The couple’s persistence, however, paid off. Children from far-flung areas soon started coming to their school to study, reside there and be cared for. Shabila’s now fondly called chachi and she in turn treats them as her own. Tears fill her eyes as she worries about their future. "What’ll happen to them after I die?" The question’s assumed importance after Serajul’s recent demise. The number of children has dropped for want of money and personnel. At present the Serajul Vidyalaya houses 35 children studying from standard I-VI, though the school’s registered up to high school. Shabila herself is illiterate; she employs five teachers, one caretaker and a cook. The students pay no fee: they eat, live and receive education free of cost.
How then does Shabila manage funds? Mostly she depends on earnings from a nursery she runs on nearly 10 kathas of land apart from sundry donations from organisations and individuals. At present though, the donations have stopped coming in, and the school is facing some financial difficulties. Rues Shabila: "Every time reports about the school are published in the media, donations start pouring in but stop abruptly after a while."
The school needs about Rs 1 lakh annually to run. Shabila manages to raise some Rs 30,000 from her nursery and for the rest depends on donations in cash or kind from the villagers. From the government though, she’s got only hollow promises till date. "They (politicians and government officials) keep dropping in occasionally only to make tall promises," says Shabila. She’s grateful though to the Red Cross Society for its support from time to time.
Limited funds mean Shabila cannot pay her staff well. But as headmaster of the school and Urdu teacher Wasi Akhtar says: "We may get only Rs 300 a month, but Bibi’s sincere service towards disabled children inspires us to do whatever we can." Hindi teacher Rakesh Kumar Pandey and clerk Akhtar Ali can’t agree more.
The school’s dwindling finances are a worry. Recalling the old days, Serajul’s friend and school caretaker Ramsarf Das says: "Back then, the school was full of children. Now we can’t take them in because of our financial constraints; it hurts us more than anything." Shaukat Ali, who assists aunt Shabila in running the school these days, feels likewise. He regrets that while earlier the children got three meals a day, it has now come down to two.
Yet, despite all odds, the children are content to live with their chachi. Says 10-year-old Ramesh Sah, a class-II student: "Kuchch bhi ho, hum chachi ko chhod kar nahin jayenge yahan se (come what may, we won’t go from here, leaving chachi behind)." That perhaps is enough incentive for Shabila to go on. Should you want to help, contact Bibi Shabila Khatun at the Liyakat Sarvodaya Viklang Sanstha, Awashiya Uchch Vidyalaya, Village Karsahiyan, Via Dhaka, East Champaran, Bihar. Or call 06250-82248.