Bhatta Hembram would have been sweating it out at a construction site like his parents and elder brother had it not been for the Zindagi Foundation바카라an organisation that prepares poor, meritorious students in Odisha for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). The tribal teenager from Mayurbhanj district cleared this year바카라s test conducted for enrollment in medical colleges. He can바카라t thank Ajay Bahadur Singh enough, the founder of Zindagi on the lines of 바카라Super 30바카라 of Anand Kumar in Patna. 바카라I had to quit studies after Class XII due to poverty. Then I heard about Zindagi Foundation. I was selected after a screening test and was provided free food and lodging, study materials and, above all, personal attention at Zindagi that helped me pass the tough all-India test. Ajay Sir is god for me,바카라 Bhatta says.
Bhatta is among 19 poor students that Zindagi coached바카라all cleared the NEET this year, a repeat of last year바카라s performance when all 14 made the grades. For all of these students, Ajay Sir is 바카라god바카라.
But how did this man from Jharkhand land in Odisha and make it his workplace? Singh is convinced it was god Jagannath who brought him to Odisha. 바카라I was on my way to Hyderabad in 2004, made a break-journey and visited Puri. When I had my first look at the Lord, I remembered I had seen Him in my dream a few months before. It was love at first sight with Odisha. Coming as I did from lawless Bihar, it seemed to be an island of peace with a much better atmosphere for studies than my native state. It did not take me long to decide to make it my karmabhoomi,바카라 Singh says.  Â
Singh wanted to become a doctor, but his dream shattered when his father had to undergo a kidney transplant, which crippled the family economically. He quit studies after Class XII, shifted to Deoghar and did odd jobs바카라selling tea and soft drinks, putting up posters. 바카라At this stage, my father advised me to complete my graduation. So, I shifted to Patna and started giving tuitions to fund my stay and education there. Later, I set up a coaching institute that prepared candidates for railway jobs,바카라 he recalls.
In Bhubaneswar, Singh established Adyanta higher secondary school. Later, he obtained a franchise from Akash Institute for Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The students of Zindagi receive coaching at the institute바카라s Bhubaneswar centre for the medical test, while the foundation takes care of their lodging. What sets them apart is the personal attention they receive from Singh바카라giving the underprivileged students the confidence to take the demanding test.
Singh had received an offer from the Chhattisgarh government to set up a similar facility there with government help. He politely declined. 바카라I was clear from the beginning that I won바카라t accept any donations or external funds,바카라 he says. Zindagi is run entirely from the income generated by the school he has set up and the franchise arrangement he has with Akash.
By Sandeep Sahu in BhubaneswarÂ
