Passion Stories

Harekala Hajabba, an orange vendor from Mangalore, built a primary school with his earnings of Rs 150 per day. He never had the opportunity to access education, and he did not want the children in the village to suffer the same fate

His village called Newpadapu, did not have a school for many years. All the village children were deprived of their right to education. Then, in 2000, Harekala Hajabba invested all his life savings and started a school on one acre of land.

Today, the school has 175 students with classes up to the 10th standard. And in 2020, this 66-year-old man was conferred with the India’s second-highest civilian award Padma Shri for his efforts in providing education to children of his village.