Asapara in Tripura is home to a large settlement of the internally displaced Bru tribe. This place is the hometown of Lojith Kumar, an AIM for Seva alumnus. Lojith has lived and studied across our Chatralayams in Indore, Hoshangabad, Kareli, Madhya Pradesh and Thippanampettai, Tamil Nadu during the last decade (2012-2021). He is now working as a cashier with Sundaram Finance in Krishna Nagar near Kolkata, West Bengal.
It wasn’t easy at first. When Lojith joined the Bapu-Buddh AIM for Seva Chatralayam for Boys, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, in 2012 he used to cry a lot especially after the Sunday phone call with his parents. “At that time I used to ask myself, why did I come here, I could have been at home and pursued my studies.”
Lojith is the eldest among four brothers and is from the Reang tribe. His father is a daily wage labourer while his mother is a homemaker. Lojith came to know about AIM for Seva when the coordinator of our Madhya Pradesh projects, Swami Aishvaryananda ji visited his village during a pada yatra (walking tour) almost ten years back. “One of my relative who was studying in Madhya Pradesh at that time knew Swamiji personally. It was he who forced my parents to send me to the hostel stating that a new path would open up for me.”
As Lojith started to settle down in the new environment, he began to appreciate his current home and surroundings. “While in Asapara, the school routine was irregular. There were unannounced holidays and sometimes, teachers would be absent. All this impacted my learning. In addition, at home, one used to get caught up in daily chores.”
At the AIM for Seva Chatralayam, Lojith not only got to attend the nearest school but he also got exposed to other activities. “I liked chanting of Vedic mantras and I loved doing pranayam and asanas. The most important thing that I learnt during my Chatralayam years was the value of time in our daily life, the value of education etc. Regular tuitions at the Chatralayam premises helped clear many doubts,” he says.
Slowly, the results came trickling in. Lojith came first in 100 metres in his school sports day in Class 7. In 2014, he shifted to the Chatralayam at Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh (Smt. Jamunabai Chanchlani AIM for Seva Chatralayam for Boys). I started to perform well in my studies. I developed an interest in maths and science,” says Lojith.
“After I completed my Class 12, I got an opportunity to study at the Swami Dayananda College of Arts & Science, Manjakkudi, Tamil Nadu. In those three years, I learnt lot of things and the professors in college motivated us to achieve our dreams.” He pursued BCA (Bachelors in Computer Application) at the institution in Manjakkudi.
Lojith got placed with Sundaram Finance in February 2021 via campus recruitment. Prior to coming to the AIM for Seva Chatralayam, he studied Class 1 to 5 at Dayanand Model School, Anand Vihar, New Delhi.
Moving forward, Lojith is planning to start a farming business. “The experience gained in the finance sector in my current work profile is certainly valuable. I have learned a lot on matters relating to finance and eventually when I get down to doing my own farming business, this experience would prove to be very valuable in buying and selling of produce,” he says.
At the end, he offers his gratitude and thanks to all the donors from USA and Canada who supported him in his education to employment journey.