From Grazing Cattle to Classroom Dreams: One Boy’s Journey Back to School

Rajamma Village, Chhattisgarh — In the remote tribal village of Rajamma, where most families survive on daily wage labour and seasonal work, education is often the first thing sacrificed when survival is at stake. For young Sumit Raut, that sacrifice nearly cost him his future. Today, thanks to the Khushaal Bachpan programme, supported by Caritas India and Caritas Australia, he wears a school uniform again, and dreams of a life his parents never had the chance to imagine for themselves.

When Survival Comes Before School

Sumit’s father, Babulal Raut, works as a daily wage labourer whenever work is available. His mother, Ratho Raut, manages the household and helps in the fields. With an income that came and went unpredictably, even basic school expenses, uniforms, books, stationery, slowly became too much for the family to manage. Education, without anyone intending it, quietly slipped down the list of priorities.

As financial pressure mounted, Sumit stopped going to school altogether. Instead of a classroom, his days were spent in the forest, grazing other people’s cattle to bring in a little extra income for the family. The nearest middle school was far from the village, reachable only by long walks along difficult rural paths, one more obstacle in a life already full of them.

A Boy Slipping Away, Quietly

What followed was harder to see than missed school days. While other children in the village went to school, played together, and took part in community life, Sumit spent his time alone with the cattle. He stopped mixing with children his own age, avoided village gatherings, and slowly lost the confidence that comes from simply belonging somewhere. His parents watched this happen and felt powerless to stop it, caught between wanting their son in school and needing him to help the family survive.

A Team That Looked Beyond the Classroom

On 23 March 2024, during a routine village visit, the Khushaal Bachpan team met Sumit and began to understand his situation. It quickly became clear that this was not simply a case of a child missing school. Sumit was at serious risk of becoming a permanent dropout, and what he needed first was not a lecture about education, but emotional support, encouragement, and a place where he felt he belonged again.

Community educators and project staff began visiting Sumit’s home regularly, speaking with him and his parents. At first, Sumit kept his distance and showed little interest in returning to school. Rather than pushing him, the team took a gentler, child friendly approach, inviting him to sports competitions, cultural programmes, and games at the local Learning Centre. Slowly, through these informal moments of play and connection, Sumit began to trust again.

Friends Who Refused to Give Up on Him

Some of the most meaningful support came not from adults, but from Sumit’s peers. Members of the village’s Bal Panchayat, a children’s collective, visited him regularly, spoke to him as friends rather than outsiders, and kept inviting him to join activities at the Learning Centre. Instead of judging him for dropping out, they simply welcomed him in.

“At first, I thought school was no longer meant for me,” Sumit recalls. “I spent every day grazing cattle and believed I had fallen too far behind. When the Bal Panchayat children kept inviting me to play and study with them, I slowly realised that I could still return to school and build a better future.”

Finding a Way Around the Distance

Even as Sumit’s confidence returned, one practical problem remained: the school was simply too far from home for daily travel. The Khushaal Bachpan team worked closely with the family to find a lasting solution, supporting Sumit’s admission to Chacha Nehru School in Bardiah, around 30 kilometres away, and arranging a place for him in the school hostel. The team guided the family through the admission process, helped organise the necessary documents, and made sure Sumit’s education could begin without further delay.

“When the Khushaal Bachpan team explained that Sumit could continue his education safely by staying in the hostel, we finally felt hopeful,” said his father, Babulal Raut. “We wanted our son to study, but we simply could not afford the expenses or support him every day because of our financial condition. Their guidance removed a burden that we could not manage alone.”

Rebuilding Confidence, One Day at a Time

Hostel life was not an easy adjustment. Being away from home, following a strict routine, attending regular classes, and catching up on lessons after so long out of school demanded patience and determination from Sumit. Teachers, hostel staff, and the Khushaal Bachpan team stayed involved throughout the year, offering steady encouragement. The groundwork laid at the Learning Centre before his admission also helped him settle into formal schooling more comfortably than he might have otherwise.

Slowly, his confidence grew. He began attending classes regularly, taking part in school activities, making friends, and showing real interest in his studies again. By the end of the academic year, Sumit had successfully completed Class VI and was promoted to the next grade. He continues his studies today at the same school, living in the hostel, determined to see his education through.

“There was a time when we believed our son would never return to school,” said his mother, Ratho Raut. “Today, seeing him wearing his school uniform, talking happily about his classes, and preparing for the next grade gives our family great happiness. We are grateful to everyone who believed in him when we had almost lost hope.”

A Story Bigger Than One Child

Sumit’s journey is a reminder that school dropout is rarely about a lack of ability. It is usually the result of many pressures arriving at once, financial hardship, long distances, family responsibility, and a slow loss of confidence that can make a child feel school no longer has a place for them. What brought Sumit back was not a single fix, but a combination of consistent counselling, peer support from the Bal Panchayat, safe hostel accommodation, academic mentoring, and steady follow up from the Khushaal Bachpan team, supported by Caritas India and Caritas Australia.

Today, Sumit dreams of completing his education, becoming self reliant, and one day supporting his family the way they once supported him, not by grazing cattle in a forest, but by building a future none of them thought possible.