Lighting the Path: Mukti’s Mission to Empower Rural Educators and Brighten Young Futures

In the forgotten corners of West Bengal—where the winds whisper through mangroves and the roads are often muddy trails—hope is quietly taking root. Here, school bells may not ring on time, and blackboards have seen better days, but something powerful is unfolding. A quiet revolution, led not by officials in air-conditioned rooms, but by humble villagers with hearts full of courage.

They are Mukti’s volunteer educators.

They are mothers, youth leaders, farmers’ daughters, and sons of soil. They are not trained teachers by degree—but by devotion. They rise before the sun, walk miles to reach a thatched classroom, and teach with nothing but a few chalk pieces, handmade charts, and unshakable love for their children. What they lack in resources, they make up for with resolve. What they seek is not pity—but possibility.

Across 90 Mukti Support Schools in 8 districts—from the dense forests of Jhargram to the river-laced islands of the Sundarbans—these volunteers are quietly bridging the learning gap. Where systemic inequalities persist, especially in tribal and remote belts, they stand tall, turning dusty classrooms into spaces of wonder and discovery.

But even the strongest need a hand to hold.

Mukti believes that these torchbearers of change deserve more than applause—they deserve access. Access to training that empowers them with participatory methods, playful pedagogy, digital tools, and inclusive learning strategies. With every workshop, every peer forum, and every mentorship call, we see something beautiful happen—confidence blooms.

A once-timid homemaker from a forest-side village now leads storytelling circles using phonetic games. A young man with little formal education now teaches science with bamboo, leaves, and local soil, making curiosity come alive in children’s eyes. “Earlier, only the best students answered,” smiles Anima from Debichak MSS, “but now, after I started using star stickers, every child tries to speak. Their eyes light up. They want to come to class. That’s everything.”

These aren’t just stories—they are soul-deep transformations.

When teaching improves, so does learning. When learning improves, communities begin to rise—slowly, but surely. Retention increases. Dreams take root. Parents start believing. Children start imagining. “Our Mukti Support School is more than a school,” says Jagannath Jana, coordinator of the Kakdwip-Namkhana cluster. “It’s a movement. But for this movement to grow, our educators need to be empowered to answer every question asked by eager young minds.”

Empowering rural educators is not a campaign for us. It is our calling.

With structured training, regular support, and the warmth of community, we are not just building capacities—we are restoring dignity to rural teaching. We are making sure no child, however remote their village, is left behind. We dream of classrooms where every child learns from someone who teaches not just with knowledge, but with joy.

“They call me ‘Mastermoshai’ now,” says Bibhas Mondal of Nagendranath MSS, Basanti. “But more than the title, they listen to me. That… that changes everything.”

Because education in rural Bengal doesn’t need people who fly in and out—it needs those who stay. Those who believe. Those who belong.

With every empowered educator, Mukti is not just teaching children. We are transforming entire villages—one chalk-streaked hand, one eager question, one classroom of hope at a time.

Let us continue to walk beside them—not just as volunteers, but as visionaries. Not just as teachers, but as torchbearers of a brighter tomorrow.

 

……Ananya Chatterjee, Senior Program Manager – Education