As a child living in India, P. A. Karle endured an arduous 14 km (8.6 miles) walk to attend school. Every step brought him closer to the education he valued but he didn’t want future students to face that same challenge. There were many days when he dreamt of a campus closer to his village.
Through determination and commitment, Karle made that dream come true when he founded the Shirgoan Panchakroshi School 64 years ago. Long gone is the small four-room building that once housed one teacher and 30 students. Karle passed away but not before seeing his vision grow to a 19-classroom facility complete with science lab, athletic fields and a computer room. More than 800 students walk through the doors today to gain access to free, high-quality education.
Today, his family carries on the commitment. Leading the charge are Karle’s son and daughter-in-law, Arun and Rashmi, who devote their time and effort to transforming the educational experience for even more children.
Karle’s granddaughter, Sang, is president of Askara, Nabors’ agent and valued business partner in India. When she mentioned the need for computers, our staff in India donated 18 to the school.
“Most of these young students do not have computers at home or strong internet connection,” said Sang Karle. “The old Nabors office computers have been set up at our school. Now the children have the world at their fingertips.”
These days, children crowd around the computers, hoping to catch a glimpse into a wealth of knowledge that was previously out of reach. The value of this donation cannot be measured in terms of money.
“This access completely changes the experience for these students,” said Pramrod Ayre, Nabors operations field support technician. “They can learn new technology and have a window into the great, big world out there.”
What began as a dream turned into a vision and became a gift. This gift continues to grow as there are more plans in the future. For hundreds of children, there is now no limit to what they can achieve. It all began with one man’s long journey to school.
