In the 1990s, Harekala Hajabba was making a living by selling oranges at the Central Market in Mangaluru.
Today, in his 60s, he is a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award, the fourth-highest civilian award in the country.
His inspiring story began when one day, a foreigner asked him the price of 1 kg of oranges.
Hajabba could not answer as he did not know English.
Fearing that future generations of the Harekala village would face a similar situation, Hajabba decided to open a primary school. The school was started on June 17, 2000.
Also read: Padma Shri Hajabba felicitated by Mangaluru police
It later became a government school and the high school section was opened in 2007.
The school now teaches classes 1 to 10.
The classrooms in his school are named after different achievers.
The class 9 rooms are named after astronaut Kalpana Chawla, while the class 8 rooms are named after Rani Abbakka. The staffroom is named after Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and the office and laboratory are named after Swami Vivekananda.
Also read: Hajabba wants village school upgraded
Hajabba built the school with grants from the government, companies and from donors.
He initially contributed ₹5,000, which were his savings from selling oranges.
Hajabba’s present goal is to ensure that a Pre-University college is set up in the village
Before Hajabba built his school, students from Harekala had to walk 3 km to reach the nearest aided schools.
Hajabba’s achievements have become a subject of study in undergraduate courses in Mangaluru, Davangere and Kuvempu universities.
Additionally, Kannada-medium schools in Kerala have included him in their syllabus for Class VIII and Class X students.
