Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, May 6: For Baptist higher secondary school at Mangkolemba, in Mokokchung district, education is not confined only to the privileged who can pay school fees but believe in imparting education to every deserving student.
The school believes in the power of education which is why they have a mission called 'Hope Trust' in 2009. Hope Trust is an initiative to take the benefits of education to underprivileged students, creating space for children in their schools, and empower them with education which they will otherwise probably miss.
Not every child is fortunate enough to enrol in school even more so because of financial constraints. It is not the fault of the children for missing out on school. Taking into consideration such factors, the school initiated the 'Hope Trust,' a mission to reach out to underprivileged children who show performance ability academically and have the desire to learn.
"Seeing the financial struggle of some sincere and deserving students in our school, the staffs pledged to make monetary contributions from their meagre income in paying the school monthly fees of those deserving students from the year 2009. Thus, formed a trust to mitigate the financial constrains to some extent of the worthy students."
The mission was the brainchild of the school's former principal Imjong Longkumer who served the school from 2007 to 2017.
"Five summers ago, with a vision for altruistic work, the staff of Baptist higher secondary school Mangkolemba in Mokokchung district along with few compassionate friends embarked on a mission. The mission was to give hope to bright and sincere students who are in dire need of financial assistance. Thus, was born the Hope Trust," the prologue to the mission states.
Hope Trust is run by means of contributions made by the BHSS staff and well-wishers. The Trust is sponsoring the school monthly tuition fees of a few deserving students every year.
The school started with contributions from the school's staff and the management. The mission threw its doors open when well-wishers found out about the noble initiative.
The school believes that education is an important component for human development. Yearning to get education at any cost can be one of the most heartening goals. Extending assistance to someone to fulfil their educational need is a benevolent gesture that sure will never go wasted, just as a drop of water for a weary traveller.
"The first year saw 12 students being sponsored by the trust. In 2011, there were 11 students who received the much needed financial push from the Trust," the school told Eastern Mirror.
"Just as every intellectual and compassionate person would acknowledge humanitarian works, contributions started pouring in from every quarter making the Hope Trust stronger and collective."
"If and when we receive the donations from well wishers, the authority and the teachers sit for a meeting and select more deserving students and whatever fees the selected students have paid are refunded to them from the donation," the school principal's Toshitsungla said, from Mangkolemba.
"But sometimes the parents tells us not to refund and to help their children only from the month that they have been selected which leads to remaining balance in the Hope Trust so that balance is added to the next year's Hope Trust."
The number of sponsored students depends on the donations that are received. The highest number of students the Trust sponsored so far was 19 students, the principal said. Also, she said that a student is sponsored for a period of two years.
The Trust has so far sponsored around 150 students till date whether they receive donations from well wishers or not. They continue with the contributions from staffers and the management. The school quotes Anne Frank's "No one has ever become poor by giving."
