OUR UNSUNG HEROES

Here's saluting some Indian Idols of 2008
This 16-year-old's mission : Education
Babbar Ali is an unusual teenager. While his peers are immersed in their own lives, this Class XI student has decided to do his bit for others. After his classes get over, the 16-year-old turns the small courtyard of his house in Berhampore, West Bengal, into a makeshift school for nearly 600 children.
It's a mission that started when he was 11. Moved by the plight of some parents who couldn't afford to send their children to school, he took it on himself to teach them. His students come from nearby villages. Some even walk as much as four kms. to reach his house. Besides lessons, the children are drawn by the free rice distributed at the end of each month. "Attendance was falling drastically. That is when I hit upon this idea. As my school is not recognised by the government, I couln't have got free rice. But government officials helped me," says Ali.
Ali has big dreams for the future. "I dream that my school will grow and expand to other parts of the state and country where children want to but can't go to school." But for now, he will be content if his students get a proper classroom.