Swami Hitanand - A Ray of Hope in Aboojhmaad

Swami Hitanand  is a monk in Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narayanpur which is one of the branches of Ramakrishna Math in the state of Chhattisgarh. With a motto to educate the children of this inaccessible and most under rated area of Chhattisgarh, he is continuing selflessly from a decade without taking rest. 

Ramakrishna Mission Ashram ,Narayanpur was established by Swami Atmanand on 2nd August 1985 to serve the tribal people of that area particularly known as Aboojhmarians. For centuries these tribals have faced utter negligence and oppression from mainstream society and needed much attention.

This area is one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the country where administration and police is even unable to reach.  They have access to this area up to a few kilometres only because of dense forests, hills, adivasis and Maoists movement which makes it entirely unapproachable. 

Swamiji - A ray of hope

In 2011, even before the arrival of Government and administration, Swami Hitanand and his companions approached this area namely , two very sensitive villages- Harbel and Dhobe of Jatloor panchayat. Swamiji first reached Jatloor by jeep and then Harbel after walking a distance of 12 km on foot as there was no road except small footway among the dense forest. He was dedicated to pick children to take them to Ashram for providing education.

A Courageous Beginning

When Swami ji reached Harbel in his saffron clothes, villagers just got inside their huts by seeing a monk in the village. It was quite obvious because of Naxalite movement in that area. After a while, an old lady came out and offered drinking water to him. She spoke to Swami Hitanand in local dialect called Madiya- " I just came to your Narayanpur Ashram along with some villagers of Jatloor. It is too good. Please take both of my children along with you and make them study." It was a wonderful encouraging moment for Swamiji and he decided to move to Dhobe immediately. 

Dhobe  is situated at a distance of 12 km from Harbel in dense forest. When Swamiji approached the villagers in Dhobe, at first one villager agreed to send his child with Swamiji after mutual talk. Seeing this, some other villagers also gave their consent to send their children to Narayanpur Ashram.

A Kick Start

Swamiji gave a kick start to his mission with 5 children at the age of 34. At present he is 46 years old. In those 12 years, he has collected about 2500 children from 11 villages of Aboojhmaad and admitted them in Narayanpur Ashram where they get quality education and fulfill their dreams. Swamiji follow a unique method of identification of children and their parents as majority of them are illiterate and don't know Hindi even.

Swamiji first take a photograph of the child with his or her parents along with a slate in which child name is written along with their parents and village name. This procedure is followed so has to keep their record. In past 35 years, thousands of children from those areas have got educated and nurtured and bagged top positions in various exams. The Ashram offers a highly disciplined and world class environment to them for their all round development. 

The Mission continues

Swamiji is still continuing his mission with all his might and with the same zeal and even planning to visit more remote villages beyond Harbel and Dhobe. He visit those inaccessible areas where there is absolutely no human entry beyond CRPF camp. Many a times, the villagers itself support and show him the way for a particular destination.

In all, Swami Hitanand is a ray of hope for all the poor children in the densely forested and remote areas of Aboojhmaad .No reward can ever describe his greatness nor can assess his selfless service towards humanity. Such persons are the change makers of the society and the nation.