Uttam

I think a natural reaction for most folk when they first meet Uttam is admiration and disbelief. You realise that this 31-year-old is responsible for the building, running and funding of a school that, unsupported by government or official charity, educates 1500 children on a daily basis. More than this, these children from some of the poorest backgrounds in Nepal (the 2nd poorest country in the world!) are often waived their monthly (paltry!) 100 rupee tuition fee, are fed if they are hungry, clothed where necessary and supplied with books and writing materials. Five years ago, when he first set about founding Samata School, Uttam had just 50,000 rupees…that’s less than £400!! Needless to say, he is a very unique individual. It is perhaps this uniqueness that has caused Uttam to be somewhat maligned and frequently misunderstood…and I must admit that it took me some weeks to get a handle on him and to accept him for the amazing person that he is.
As in any new situation, one always tries to prepare for any potential difficulties and, where possible, to ask advice of those who’ve been before. Before arriving in Nepal, I’d e-mailed some of the former volunteers from Samata School. Also, during my ‘induction’ week, I’d had the opportunity to speak to both Claus and Lucy about their experiences at the school. The one clear message coming from all these sources was that I would have an incredible experience…but to watch out for Uttam! None of this was said meanly, nor was there any implication that Uttam was anything other than a good person. They were all simply saying that Uttam would try to get as much out of me as possible. Having nothing to gauge this by until much later on, I arrived at Samata expecting to be given 7-day weeks, 10-hour days, terrible food, English lessons for the teachers and constant pleas for British visas. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that Saturdays were mine; the school day consisted of 7 45-minute lessons, 2 frees and a half-hour lunch break; the food was delicious and healthy; I wasn’t expected to teach teachers and nobody wanted to leave the school and come to England! Rather than badger me for a visa, Uttam wanted to buy me drinks and cakes or take me for dinner at Double Dorjee Restaurant, whilst espousing his philosophies on life and enthusiastically describing his vision of Samata schools in each of Nepal’s 75 states. Now I’d be lying if I didn’t say that during my first few weeks this surfeit of extra-curricular contact was tiresome and a little bewildering. At the time, I really would have preferred to have the time to myself – either to relax or to prepare my lessons. Uttam is the kind of person you just can’t tune-out from when you’re sat beside him: he gives off this vibrant, nervous energy which grabs your attention and forces you to listen to every word of his broken, occasionally-confusing English. On top of coming to terms with teaching, I would often wander home from meeting Uttam dazed, confused and utterly drained…amazed that one person could do so much…and still have time to think of more! However, what those meetings gave me that I’m grateful for, was a deeper understanding of Uttam’s motives and beliefs…and in turn these taught me a profound respect of him. Uttam’s one and only failing is his inability to understand that the rest of the world is not as driven as he is. You cannot believe just how much this man crams into a day…and then you have to get your head round an ascetism that denies a celebratory beer or even a girlfriend with whom to celebrate his many triumphs. He wakes up in the morning and doesn’t need to think about what he’s going to do for the day…he already knows: every day is one more step along the road to that ultimate goal of 75 Samata schools…and nothing and nobody is going to stop him! This single-mindedness of purpose doesn’t make him a great manager of people, nor does it lend itself to making friendships, nor to stepping back and enjoying the moment. What it has achieved, though, is plainly obvious in the shining faces of 1500 children at assembly every morning; in the unusual ratio of girls to boys at Samata School (in a country where education for girls is not deemed a priority for poor families, there are usually 2 to 3 times as many boys as girls in a given age-group…at Samata there are actually more girls); in the hunger to learn and the strong characters of so many of the children; and, significantly, in the opening of Samata School No. 2 in Bhaktapur on the day I left Nepal. That one man can achieve so much with so little is truly inspirational…and it’s little wonder with his record for ‘doing’ that Uttam has such little patience for the ‘can’t do’ characters of this world. It can’t be denied that he wouldn’t have got so far without the assistance of many generous donors, a committed staff and the support of parents, pupils and local education chiefs…but the drive, the passion, the intensity and the ideas are all his. His commitment is so utter that he allowed himself to be disowned by his family in his pursuit of bettering life for Nepal’s youth. Instead of studying to be a doctor or a lawyer as his family wished, he left university in Mumbai to devote his time to preschool and after-school activity centres for the under-privileged kids of Jorpati. His ‘vision’ was already in place even at this early stage and he was merely biding his time until the opportunity arose to take the first step. This came when a plot of land came up for development. In those early years, it seems he had one major benefactor (who remains anonymous to this day) who was prepared to give him 50000 rupees to further the aims of his (already very successful Samata Club). When Uttam told him what he intended to do with the money, his backer balked. With no experience, few contacts and only 50000 rupees, how was he ever going to set up a school successfully? His sponsor told him in no uncertain terms that it was a crazy idea and one doomed to failure. Uttam, as I have come to learn, does not quit when the going gets tough – regardless of what anyone tells him, he has such a strength of belief in his own ideals and in his purpose that when he says he’s going to do something, he just goes out and does it. And five years later, here we are: Samata School is going strong and this year’s class 8’s (my class 7’s) will be the first to sit public exams. In a little less than 3 years the same children will hopefully be sitting their SLCs (School Leaving Certificate) at an officially accredited Samata School. Uttam’s dream, by way of his excellent PR skills has been trumpeted from the editorial of the biggest selling English daily paper in Nepal. In my short time there, I saw at least 3 front cover photos in various papers and TV news spots. His dream has already started to become a reality through his sheer, bloody-minded self-belief and hard work – driven by his love and respect for his young charges. When he’s in the playground with the children there is always an air of respect and mutual adoration…and because of this his dream has become their dream too. Girls whose best hope might have been a cleaning job or becoming a dutiful wife now dream of becoming doctors and lawyers. Those sinister nightmares spawned by the continuing trade of Nepali flesh over the border into India have been banished by the bright light of education. For the boys, alternatives have appeared to following their father into years of back-breaking toil as a porter or filling their lungs with the carcinogen-rich Kathmandu atmosphere behind the handlebars of a rickshaw. Is it any wonder that these kids look on Uttam as some kind of father figure?! After 2 months getting to know this remarkable man and seeing the difference that one passionate, committed human being can make, I find myself admitting that his dream has become a part of my dreams too. One day in the not-too-distant future, I look forward to returning to work alongside Uttam and, hopefully, imparting my soon-to-be-acquired knowledge and skills to him, his staff and, of course, his children.