It’s hard to believe that even diligent people require a heavy dose of outside support for achieving big. Sometimes, hard work is not the only thing which helps people in fulfilling their desires- it also requires appropriate guidance and a vision for the future. Three students of Arunachal Pradesh, Leecha Haisa, Longsam Sapang, and Sengthung Yanchang, who topped class 12 exam in Changlang district recently found themselves in a bit of a financial hole. Their families did not have sufficient wherewithal to provide for their graduation.
This is where the District Collector of Changlang, Mr. Devansh Yadav stepped in. He had a plan for these students. Mr. Yadav was convinced that sending these students to the prestigious Delhi University would add a lot of exposure and will uplift their career graphs. And to achieve this, he launched a crowdfunding initiative for them.
In an exclusive interview with Indian Masterminds, Mr. Yadav said, “Changlang is a remote area in which most of the people belong to a poor family background which constrains them to their own community and area. Also, there is no particular scholarship to target such students who are excellent in academics.”
STARTING A CROWDFUNDING INITIATIVE ON TWITTER
Mr. Yadav wanted to help such deserving candidates to pursue their bachelor’s education from esteemed universities so that they could help their community in a better way. He, therefore, started a crowdfunding campaign for the three on Twitter.
He posted a message: “It takes 2 mins to help these students realize their dream of studying in #DelhiUniversity. All 3 are district toppers & not from financially sound background. Your contribution can help them pursue Undergrad in #DU. Just click on d link above…”
“I reached out to Bunnem Tangha, an alumnus of Delhi University who is also working under the women and child development department in the state. As she knew all the application process and cutoff criteria at Delhi University, I asked her to help me find deserving candidates to kick off this initiative. She then made a WhatsApp group of local students who were good in academics and with that three students were selected initially.”
Devansh Yadav IAS, DC Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh
The three district toppers who were selected were Longsam Sapong who scored the highest with 89.4 percent marks, Senthung Yangchang scored 89.2 percent, and Leecha Haisa 80.6 percent.
“Longsam was on my radar for a long time as he used to participate in all the school and government programs. As he scored well in the class 12 exams, I planned to push this initiative so that students like him can prosper and serve their community well.”
Devansh Yadav IAS, DC Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh
Coming from a humble background, people in Changland are not inclined towards sending their children to far-flung areas and even the students follow the same direction. But this reduces their exposure to the outside world, and hence the opportunities for betterment.
THE INITIATIVE TURNED OUT TO BE A SUCCESS
The initiative took off with many people who started commending the IAS officer for his unique approach. It turned out to be a success, with more than Rs 3 lakh pooled in for the three students.
The students who were earlier planning to study in the state’s capital were now heading towards the national capital. Mr. Yadav’s initiative will not only help them in covering the college fees but also the transportation and accommodation charges for three years of their bachelor’s education.
“A very low percentage of candidates apply for state civil services exam from Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts, despite having ten percent population of Arunachal Pradesh. The district also faces the issue of insurgency and hence, the level of opportunities for students in regards to education is less.”
Devansh Yadav IAS, DC Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh
As thee initiative turned out to be a success, all three students have found a college in Delhi University where they will be pursuing their higher education. Longsam Sapong will be studying Political Science (Hons) from Delhi College of Arts and Commerce and Sengthung Yanchang will be pursuing the same course from Maitreyi College. Lastly, Leecha Haisa will pursue her bachelors from Kalindi College.
Apart from the three students, two more meritorious students were added to the list. Karan Thapa was admitted to PGDAV College in Delhi and Nyammink Khomrang to Miranda House, DU. Mr. Yadav hopes that this initiative will help a lot of students of the same kind in the coming years.
