How an engineer-turned-social-worker is transforming childhood in the Naxal-dominated region of Chhattisgarh

This October, children from the Naxal-affected region of Sukma in Chhattisgarh will celebrate Daan Utsav, the Joy of Giving Week, with the same gusto they have been showing year after year since 2016. 

In an area known more for its conflicts than celebrations, hundreds of children are transforming the community spirit through simple yet profound acts of kindness. From pooling money to buy gifts for elders to repairing bikes for younger kids, these small gestures represent their deeper desire for hope, compassion, and resilience. 

These traits have been inculcated in them thanks to the efforts of Siksharth, an organisation that is working tirelessly to restore and transform education for children in one of the most conflict-affected regions of the country. 

Founded in 2016 by Ashish Shrivastava and his wife Shalini Srivastava, along with friends Vikas Shukla and Neeraj Naidu, Siksharth is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering tribal children through contextual and culturally relevant education. It began with the team teaching in a few residential schools and has now grown into a movement that spans across hundreds of schools in the region.

Genesis of Siksharth

Shrivastava, an electrical engineer from Bhopal, was working in the corporate sector when he felt the urge to travel and explore the country’s socio-political landscape. His journey brought him to Chhattisgarh, where the devastation caused by the Naxalite conflict created a deep impact on him. 

“I saw firsthand how the conflict had affected the children, who were growing up in constant fear. Schools were either destroyed or inaccessible, and the children didn’t have a place to learn or feel safe,” he says.

Siksharth’s data from the region is alarming. During the Salwa Judum conflict, over 300 schools were destroyed, impacting the education of more than 20,000 children in Sukma alone. 

With most schools situated in areas under extreme structural violence, these children were not just losing out on education but were also growing up with deep-rooted cyclical trauma. Siksharth was born out of the realisation that the children needed not just books and classrooms but also an environment that nurtured their minds and spirits.

Working in a conflict zone

Shrivastava and his team, as expected, faced significant resistance when they started out.

“It was difficult to get funding. The government officials didn’t always accept us, and the community was wary of outsiders,” says Shrivastava. 

Moreover, understanding the local tribal dialects and adapting to the harsh living conditions added to the complexity. 

“The children couldn’t understand Hindi or English, which was often the medium of instruction. The teaching was mostly a monologue, with the teacher doing all the talking and the children feeling lost,” he says.

The impact of the conflict on these children was not limited to academics alone. A study by Siksharth revealed that 47% of the children exposed to war suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), with 43% showing signs of depression and 27% experiencing anxiety. 

One poignant moment stands out for Shrivastava. 

“In 2015, we asked Class 4 students to draw anything they liked. Out of 53 students, 47 drew combat scenes of violence, guns, and security forces. This was their reality.”

Creating positive childhood experiences  

Recognising that traditional education alone couldn’t address these deep psychological and emotional scars, Siksharth devised programmes focused on creating positive childhood experiences. 

At the heart of the team;s approach is the integration of the child’s language, culture, and context into the curriculum. From storytelling in tribal dialects to comic books based on local folklore, they made education relatable and empowering.

Siksharth partnered with Pratham Books to create storybooks in local languages and developed STEM and ecology education for older children. 

Shrivastava elaborates, “We take children on nature walks, teaching them about the medicinal plants their community elders know. It’s about merging indigenous knowledge with formal education.”

Siksharth also works closely with local youth, training them as teachers to build trust within the community. These educators help bridge the gap between the children’s cultural context and formal education, creating an environment where learning is interactive and engaging.

Bhima Madkani, 30, is a local community leader and teacher at one of the schools in Sukma. Madkani was a student of Class 4 when he first encountered Naxalite resistance in Vanjalvaya. The violence led to the destruction of every school in the village. He remembers living in camps with his family for days on end. 

Madkani was among the academically passionate children that the village elders gathered together to continue schooling amid the conflict. He went on to complete his B.Sc and M.Sc in science from Bastar University and started training to become a Siksharth teacher in 2018. 

He loves his work as he believes it is restoring lost confidence and curiosity in children who have been traumatised by unending violence and conflict. 

“By studying subjects in their native languages and learning practically from the environment around them, much of the shame and low-self esteem, which being a tribal child in this region comes with, gets cleared,” says Madkani. 

“This approach to education also lessens their underlying fears of being attacked anytime, anywhere. We find that with literacy, they become resilient.”

Navigating challenges and expanding reach

Working in a region dominated by Naxalite activity came with unforeseen challenges. 

Shrivastava and his team have faced inquiries, been stopped at checkpoints, and even come under attack. 

“You have to follow protocols and be mindful of your safety. But the need for education in these areas is too urgent to ignore,” says Shrivastava. 

Siksharth has now expanded its reach, working with 500 schools across Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states, like Odisha, where it has partnered with the state government to support residential schools through multilingual education. Three hundred of these schools are those that have been rebuilt after being destroyed by conflict.

Funding has been a critical aspect for Siksharth’s success, with support mostly coming from individual donors. 

“CSR funding is underdeveloped in this region as there are no big companies with their base or manufacturing units in this conflict-ridden region. But in recent years, organisations like HDFC and Wipro Foundation have stepped in to help.”

Creating meaninful impact

Siksharth works with children from classes 1 to 8. The organisation has a team of 45 people, mostly local community members, who ensure that their interventions are not just academic but are holistic, focusing on mental health, social-emotional learning, and resilience.

Shrivastava emphasises that the goal is not just academic success but also nurturing compassionate, empathetic individuals. 

“We keep talking about positive childhood experiences. If a child grows up in violence, they won’t understand what peace is. But if we give them moments of compassion, they will carry that forward into adulthood.”

As the children of Sukma prepare for Daan Utsav this October, their joy, kindness, and resilience stand as a testament to the power of education in the most challenging of circumstances. 

Through Siksharth’s work, these children are not just beneficiaries but leaders of change, embodying the spirit of giving and hope in a region that has seen too little of both.