Who would have thought that a mere request of Rs 100 would successfully help a law student to fulfill his dream of constructing a school for the poor and the minority sections of children. Wali Rahmani, a 26-year-old law graduate from Jamia Hamdard University, Delhi, has accomplished his childhood dream of setting up a school for the underprivileged children of the society.
Born and brought up in Topsia in West Bengal, Rahmani completed his schooling from the city. “I have seen poverty from a very close angle when my father was a salesman for a brief period of time. It was only because of my father’s hard work that I was able to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty. I always wanted to build something for the poor and the underprivileged kids. What can be better than building an institution where students can learn and live, ” Rahmani said.
Social Media Reach
On 15 September 2023, one of Rahmani’s videos went viral wherein he was seen requesting the people to contribute Rs 100 for his school. His video was widely circulated on various social media platforms including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) received millions of views and everyone contributed money for his dream building. After his video reached every person not only in Kolkata but also throughout India, he received a portion of land as a donation for Ummed Global School. Within just one year of span Rahmani was ready with ‘Ummed Global School.’ He quotes the school is made of the rich for the poor. “The barren land was lying vacant for the past 24 years. The people who gave me the land in the form of a donation told me that they had also planned to build a school for the poor children. It is not less than a blessing of converting an 80,000 sqft barren and unused land to a well constructed school within just a span of 365 days, Rahmani affirms.
The school offers shelter to the needy
Ummeed global school is not only a school but also a home to 350 children. The children there have hostel facilities. The hostel has wardens who are addressed as house parents. At present, there are six house wardens and 15 teaching staff at the school. The school follows the CBSE curriculum and it has classes from KG to class 7. The school is totally free for the children. The children come from the poor sections of society. According to Rahmani, often there are kids who have been victims of child abuse. The school is a nurturing home to the children of every religion. Rahmani says that this school follows Bloom Texanomy where learning ends with a creation. He also plans to build innovation Technology labs, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) classrooms, and 3D designing in the future. When asked about if Rahmani wishes to admit some students who come from well established backgrounds, he said, “As per National Education Policy, every school should have a minimum 25% reservation for the poor children. We are planning to reverse it. ummeed global school, will have 25% reservation for the students coming from established societies while 75% students will be from economically weaker parts of society.” When asked about how he managed to transform his dream into a reality, he said “My family has supported me in every possible way. When I came up with this idea of building a school, my father said that I should not waste a minute to work towards accomplishing my dream. He took care of my needs so that I would dedicate my whole time in building this school.” The mainstream media failed to recognize Rahmani’s efforts in the beginning. He received help and support from the people who gave him the land and from another businessman who chipped in into Rahmani‘s plan. Saiffudin Parveez, a man in his 40s, left his business just to help Rahmani for his noble cause.
Making the correct use of ‘Zakaat’
Zakat is a mandatory donation of a portion of a Muslim’s wealth to the poor and needy. The young law student says every year he saves a percentage from his annual savings and gives it to the poor. But there has been a cycle in giving zakat. He says, “It has always been a repetitive cycle of the rich providing zakat to the poor. I want to break the chain so that the poor can also become rich and continue with this tradition.” Wali Rahmani wants every child who has been deprived of education from an early age to be well aware of the world. “My only dream is to see these kids bagging some of the topmost jobs in the world so that they can bring a change in the society and make India a better place, one step at a time. Education is the key, and I believe in their potential. If we invest in them today, they will shape a brighter future for all of us,” Rahmani says as he signs off.
