The Inspiring Story of A Teacher Who Swims to School Everyday to be on Time
A Teacher Who Swims to School Everyday to be in Time At 9 a.m. every working day one can see a man wading through neck-deep water in Kadalundi river, a rubber tube fastened around his waist, his tiffin box and shoes held in one hand above the muddy water. He is Abdul Malik, a 45 years old Mathematics teacher at the Muslim Lower Primary School at Padinjattumuri in Malappuram district of Kerala who has been swimming to his school and back for over twenty years. He has never missed a class.
The distance from his home to the school by road is twelve kilometres and he has to change three buses on the way. Swimming makes it possible in about fifteen minutes. In an interview to the New Indian Express he says, "I used to travel by road during the first year. But it was on the advice of my colleagues that I started to swim across the river. The school is surrounded by water on three sides. So it is better to swim rather than depend on any other mode of transportation."
Abdul carries his clothes, books and tiffin box in a bag and holds it above the water while swimming. After he crosses the river he changes into fresh clothes and walks over to the school from the river bank.
Abdul is a passionate environmentalist and rues the ruin of the river. He is saddened by how the river has become dirty over the years. He encourages his students to swim. He often takes them swimming in the river, hoping to inspire them to love nature and to save the river. The students admire and adore their unique teacher. Together they remove plastic, garbage and other filth floating on the water surface. Abdul is firmly of the opinion that we should avoid polluting our rivers, because nature is a gift from God.
Speaking to ND TV, Jahangir, a seven-year-old student of the school, smiles shyly when asked what he wants to be when he grows up. "Like Malik Master" he says.
PositiveVibes.Today salutes Abdul Malik - a lion-hearted teacher in a Primary School in Malappuram District of Kerala who swims across a river to build a bridge between passion and commitment, between man and nature - to be a model for the students and a torch-bearer for the society.
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