Meet 24-year-old Rahul Dubey, a mathematician who shifted base from Delhi to a remote village in Udaipur to launch three youth centres, compel the Government to construct roads and raise money through crowd funding to build an eco-friendly school from mud bricks. Sangeeta Yadav talks to this achiever
He calls himself a problem-solver. Education and youth development are his areas of interest. life till he was 19 was a breeze. Then it did a U-turn when he volunteered as a teacher in Kherwara village in Udaipur. Soon, he shifted base there permanently to work for the village community.
Meet 24-year-old Rahul Dubey, who after setting up three youth centres and two roads (Government funded) to connect the village with nearby towns and cities, is now building an eco-friendly school made of mud bricks.
“The idea was to build a school that was more fun than theoretical learning. So I set up a model which had alternative education and agriculture farming so that the youth didn’t move away from the villages. To focus is on providing quality education and overall development to children so that they have a rational thinking without the burden of homework and attend school without fear or hesitation. It all started with the youth centres with my team,” Dubey tells you.
It was not as if there village didn’t have any Government schools. But the ones which were running were in a dilapidated state with the building in a shambles. The teachers were not well-trained.
“The teachers were educated but not qualified to teach. They used to speak in the local language and beat the students. There was no communication between the teachers and parents. last year, we started a primary school under volunteership with AlFA Education Society. To begin with, we had no building where we could conduct the classes. We rented a two-room house where 105 students enrolled last year,” Dubey recalls.
After launching three Youth Centers in Kherwara block, the volunteering period got over but Dubey decided to extend his stay to do something value creating for those community people. Apart from the financial challenges, there were other challenges he had to face. The language barrier and trying to understand the culture of the region were a few he had to tackle.
“Kherwara was a culture shock — seeing how people were living there. I didn’t understand the local dialect and couldn’t do much for the first three weeks. Time was spent in conducting classes in the Government school and engaging in youth development initiatives.
“When it was time to leave, I felt I was losing out on relationships that I had built with the people there; people who had opened their homes for me. I didn’t want to leave things mid-way. I knew there were lots more to do. So, I decided to stay, understood the culture, learn the local language and became a part of their daily chores by working with them in their fields. It was a learning phase for me. It was only after a few months that I started working for the youth in the village,” Dubey tells you.
That’s when he took up the initiative to build an eco-friendly primary school — Village Spirit Academy — focussing on curriculum, teacher training, plantation, gardening, etc. He started a crowd-funding campaign in Ketto through which he raised Rs 4 lakh and kickstarted the project.
“In November, last year, I started the online campaign on Ketto. To make mud bricks, I researched and found out about architects in Chennai who agreed to work with us. They made the blueprint of the school and sent six labourers, who were experts at building such structures. They also trained the locals in making quality mud bricks and ensuring that these bricks didn’t allow rain to seep in,” Dubey says.
But it was not easy. More money was needed and he had to borrow and run another campaign to return the loan amount and raise funds for other developmental works. “Monsoons were round the corner. The biggest challenge was to make the mud walls water proof for which a lot of chemical paint was required. I didn’t have much time to raise funds and so I had to borrow Rs 4 lakh from people. But this money had to be paid back. Plus an additional Rs 3 lakh was needed for the flooring,” Dubey says, adding that the school will be up and running in a couple of months.
The land on which the school has been built is donated by founder of AlFA, lokesh Kalal, who belongs to the same village. Dubey started off by teaching one youth and gradually the number increased to 75 since a lot of good work was being done at these centres. There was a lot of curiosity as well and many women would come out to see what was happening in their village. But they were very shy to begin with and would stand 100 metres away from where Dubey would be working. Soon, the centres were ready and they became centres for young people who would either sit and talk or play games regardless of their caste, gender or religion.
“We motivate these people to take the responsibility of their local community and take a stand if a wrong is being done,” Dubey tells you adding that all three centers are headed by Mohan Ahari, Mohit Damor and Arun Dhindor who are actively involved in mobilising the community.
These centres have indoor and outdoor games, a small library and newspapers, magazines etc. The centre is also a place where the young have an opportunity to learn and grow.
“It opens at 11 am and closes at 5 pm. If there is any civic issue, the youth get together and work towards resolving it,” Dubey says.
One such issue was of constructing roads which had been halted many years back. “There was one route which was connecting three villages and had also got clearance of the Panchayat. The budget was sanctioned but nobody was working on it. There were a lot of thorns and accidents used take place. So we decided to take charge and 20-30 people worked from morning to evening for two days to clear the path. This incident was covered by the media and thus caught the attention of the Government who later build the road.
“We did the same thing in another village where the permission to build the road was passed but nothing was done. We cleaned the 600-meter road continuously for three days and after follow-ups, the road was finally built,” Dubey says.
Talking of his inspiration behind the social service, he says: “My problem solving skill made me take charge of my life and come up with various initiatives. The motivation and inspiration to do something for the community came from within. I always believe in the philosophy that we you have only one life and should live it fully. Thus, I have been trying to figure out how to make the most of each day and do something value-added. I asked myself, “why should I do something which I don’t like or have no interest in,” Dubey says.
Coming from an Army background, Dubey got to study in various Army schools in the country and scored above 90 per cent in his Class X and Class XII Boards. looking at his success, his parents asked him to enroll in a Kota coaching centre to make a career for himself in Engineering but Dubey decided to walk the path less travelled.
He left his parents and came to Delhi to pursue BSc Honours in Mathematics from Delhi University’s Ramjas College. In 2012, he took a gap year to research, travel, meet new people and explore what he wants to do in life.
“Since 2012, I am staying away from my family. I like not being dependent on others. I figured out on my own how to study and where to live. I did content writing and translation to earn some money. In Third Year, my interest in mathematics fizzled out and I decided to work in the social sector, in a village. I started my internship with Pravah Youth Network, a youth-based organisation in Delhi through which I get to explore many opportunities.
“I used to save money on travel by asking people for lifts and walking. That’s how I reached Nepal where I volunteered for development projects.
“I was nominated by Pravah to represent India at SAARC workshop on Sustainable Development Goals in Bangkok. Then I travelled to Bhutan to learn about the country and its culture. I also went to Sri lanka as a foreign delegate to represent India at a youth camp,” Dubey recalls.
When he told his parents that he was moving to a village, they thought he was insane. “My parents didn’t understand why I was saying so. They would tell me I was wasting my life and that everybody migrates to cities not to villages. My relatives would taunt my parents about my meager earnings. When my parents used to call me, I used to lie to them saying that I was travelling and could not hear their voice as their was weak network in villages,” he tells you.
Dubey also enrolled for Masters in Social Work from the Udaipur School of Social Work. “When I told my parents that I was pursuing masters in social work, they didn’t believe me. The routine used to be very hap hazard. I used to wake up at 5 am, take a taxi from the village to Udaipur which was 120 km away and took three hours. At 9 am, I used to attend the classes and travel back to the village around 3pm to work there till late at night. I was staying at a villager’s house. When my results came out in 2015, I told my parents that I was a university topper and gold medalist in social work. They were finally happy,” Dubey says.
Now when he looks back, he feels that the risk to do something unconventional in life is worth taking. “I had two options — to go against my wishes and spend my four years pursue engineering which my parents wanted me to do, or to spend four years doing something productive. I am glad I choose the latter. I’m live and work in a remote village and have made three youth centres, got roads constructed and the school is almost ready. I can see a lot of growth and change in the village people and in me too. People trust me and my vision. I have got a new family in this village,” Dubey tells you.
The man wants to continue working for sustainable development and make more youth groups in other villages of the area.