Across the river, into the forests, a journey to reach their students

Teachers of Agali school carry textbooks, stationery to the children of remote tribal hamlets in Attappady

The children of remote tribal hamlets in Attappady might have remembered the quote “if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain” when their teachers reached their houses with bundles of books and sweets. For the teachers of Government Higher Secondary School at Agali, who reached out to their students living in remote jungles of Attappady with textbooks and notebooks last week, the four days spent in the hamlets gave moments of reckoning. Reaching the primitive Kurumba hamlets at Thudukki, Galasi, Thadikkundu, Kinattukara, Murugala, Kurukkathikkallu, Palur, Gottiyarkandi, Mele Bhuthayar and Pazhayur in the remote hills of Attappady was never easy for the teachers, led by Student Police Cadet (SPC) community police officer Joseph Antony.