Poor man with a heart of gold

He could study only up to class-III as his parents were very hard up.

A rice mill worker, he works from 8:00am till sunset to make only Tk 250 a day.

Like any other day labourer, he is not well off but that didn't stop him from donating 33 decimal of land to set up a primary school at Paschim Baruya village, some six kilometres off Lalmonirhat town, in 2006. The piece of land is part of the 53 decimal he had inherited from his father.

Sanatan Chandra Roy's generosity has enabled children of some 500 families to study at Paschim Baruya Govt Primary School, the first educational institution in the village.

The 45-year-old had to send his two sons to another village, three and a half kilometres away from theirs, for schooling.

A tin-roofed building was built on the land to accommodate three classrooms. Academic activities began at the school in 2008.

Five years later, it was nationalised after being lobbied by poet Ferdousi Rahman Beauty from Lalmonirhat town. She is now president of the school managing committee.

Although Sanatan is not in the committee, he is happy to see local children get an education.

“There was no school in our village and it pained me a lot. But now that feeling is gone,” he told this correspondent.

The school now has 206 students and four teachers, including a headmaster.

Sanatan, who was able to study only up to class-III, donated a piece of land he inherited for a school. Photo: Star

“Had Sanatan not donated the land, many of the children would have been deprived of education,” said Satyen Chandra Roy, an assistant teacher.

Schoolchildren are also happy that they don't need to go far to get education. Their teachers are very caring.

Sanatan along with his family lives in a two-room tin-roofed house just around 300 metres off the school. The house has been lit by electricity only recently.

The couple grow vegetables in a field next to the house. The family consumes a large portion of the produce and makes about Tk 200 a week selling some. They also have a cow whose milk fetches them around Tk 120 a day.

Sanatan's elder son Susanta Chandra Roy has taken Higher Secondary School Certificate exams this year. The younger one is a student of a secondary school at another village around four kilometres away.

The photos were taken at Paschim Barua in Lalmonirhat recently. Photo: Star

His wife and sons are proud of his generosity.

“I've a wonderful feeling of peace when I think of my husband's selfless nature,” said his wife Arati Rani.

Susanta said there were many well-off people in the village, but none of them came forward to set up a school. “We're lucky that our father could do something for the noble cause.”

The family only hopes all the children in the village would have a bright future.