Birasmuni’s students, who also belong to the very humble families and are studying with her in the hostel, are happy to get her as their coach. “I am from the same school where Birasmuni Didi used to study and she has been caching me for the last three years. Liike Birasmuni Didi, I also want to become a football player in future after I grow older in my life,” said a class 6 student, Annu Kacchap. Birasmuni Didi is a brilliant coach who sometimes even becomes very strict when they do mistakes, she added.
Similarly, Savita Kumari, a class 9 student, inspired by Birasmuni wants to become a sports teacher when she grows up so she can train students in sports besides their studies.
“As we have to go to school we do only warm ups in the morning, but in the evening we are trained by Birasmuni Didi in the evening for at least two hours, said Savita.
Principal of Government Upgraded Middle School at Gadkhatanga, Bhudeo Chandra Mahto, also lauded Birasmuni for her passion for football. “Birasmuni was admitted to here after being rescued from a brick kiln; she passed out from here four years ago. Whenever she is in Ranchi, she provides football coaching to the students of my school who are also staying along with her in the ASHA Hostel,” said the principal. She was very good in football since her childhood, he recalls.
According to state government data, out of the 656 cases registered with different police stations in Jharkhand between January 2017 and December 2022, 1,574 people have been victims of trafficking.
Uprooted Generation
People, entire families and children, from the tribal areas of Jharkhand like Khunti, Simdega, Gumla and Lohardaga, are trafficked to labour camps across India where they are left at the mercy of the elements without any care and basic amenities, without food, no education, and no sanitation. Carrying the burden of bricks in their little palms, the children in these labour camps do not know what child labour is.
