It is indeed a pleasure throwback of the memory when I recall the days I had conceived the idea about stepping into the field of social service with a signature nature. That is reaching out to the unreachable.
And today, I feel extremely grateful to the Almighty and humbled and overjoyed when I recall the day I had started the Kalinga Institute of Social Science (KISS). It all started as a garden and it didn’t take much for the flowers to smile. KISS was kick-started as a small sapling and during a year’s time, it grew into a gigantic tree spreading shadow to many and with an extraordinary outreach of the huge canopy-like spread giving protection to millions today.
It’s the story of a dream-come-true which took off with125 students on board in 1992-93 and rose like a phoenix, an inspiring tale of transformation now really beyond my imagination. As a common man, when I laid the foundation of KISS, I simply had the confidence but it was not in the wildest of my imagination that, its growth would be so exponential, impact considerably and revolutionise the pattern of education for tribal boys and girls, never detaching from its core belief: Education empowers.
Focusing on its formula of 3E— Enable, Educate and Empower, KISS is a residential educational institution providing free education, accommodation, medical care, vocational, athletic, and artistic training to 60,000 indigenous children.
The students come from 62 different tribal communities within the region, of which 13 are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs). Of these, 30,000 students study at the main campus in Bhubaneswar.
A MILESTONE NOW
It has a strong alumni base of 30,000 empowered boys and girls and soon over 10,000 students will study at 10 satellite centers of KISS across Odisha. KISS has indirectly impacted over a million tribal children and youth.
This is in itself a milestone in the history of tribal children who could wriggle out of the years old backwardness and here they are.
AN INSTRUMENT OFEMPOWERMENT
While dropouts still remain an aching sore in our educational system, KISS in its course of existence, for over 30 years, has substantially checked dropouts, child marriage, gender-based harassment, left-wing extremism, proselytization, ignorance, and superstition on a massive scale with its passive intervention through education and empowerment.
It has stimulated awareness on the importance of education, girl-child empowerment, upskilling and vocational empowerment, entrepreneurship, and in collaboration with the tribal communities KISS made them real caretakers of the ecosystem, nature, and fulfilling its SDGs.
SCALING NEW GLOBAL HIGHS
For its unimpeachable record, KISS became the first exclusive tribal Deemed to be University in 2017 – a status given by the Ministry of erstwhile Human Resource Development, Government of India. With its growth, I always aspired for University status for KISS to elevate its credibility as an institution committed to research for tribal studies by tribal scholars.
KISS scaled a new high when in 2015 it received international recognition and support. Since 2015, it has been accorded Special Consultative Status by UN-ECOSOC. Then on a record spree of climbing up, it found itself among the comity of topmost organizations. It has worked in collaboration with many UN agencies and bodies like UNFPA, UNEP, UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women, US Consulate, and so on various capacity-building projects and their implementation.
KNOWLEDGE DESTINATION
Achievement speaks for itself and soon profound appreciation poured in from Nobel Laureates, Legal Luminaries, Academicians, Policymakers, Statesman, Writers, and celebrities who visited KISS and felt so after an immersive experience. KISS has also institutionalized the KISS Humanitarian Award for awarding men and women of distinction for their service to humanity.
Soon KISS became a destination and its giant leaps helped it scale new highs. For the achievement of KISS, it grew to be phenomenally a point of attraction and a very distinguished panel has joined KISS Deemed to be University at the helms.
Mr. Satya S. Tripathi has joined as the Chancellor. He was the former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Other distinguished members in the panel of leadership are: Dr. Upendra Tripathy, IAS (Retd) as Pro-Chancellor, Dr. Deepak Behera as Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Pitabasa Sahoo as Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Kanhu Charan Mahali as Director-General. Under their tenure, KISS Deemed to be University will certainly scale new heights in terms of student achievements, research, collaboration, and academic excellence.
The first is first and always special, and so is the first convocation of KISS Deemed to be University on 27 June 2021. The ceremony will be held in a hybrid mode – both physical and virtual taking into consideration the Covid-19 protocols. 143 students will get degrees for completing their Masters and M. Phil courses successfully. The brightest and the most promising graduates will be conferred with Founder’s Gold Medal, Chancellor’s Gold, and Vice Chancellor’s Silver medal at the ceremony.
The virtual ceremony will be graced by his Excellency the Governor of Odisha, most affable and erudite, Prof. Ganeshi Lal, who will be conferred with Honoris Causa, Doctor of Letters at the first convocation of KISS Deemed to be University.
The other Honoris Causa degree recipients, Odia men of high standing, achievements, and accolades are Shri Girish Chandra Murmu, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, pride of tribals, Odisha and India, Hon. Swarup Ranjan Mishra, Member of Parliament for Kesses Constituency, Kenya and Founding Chairman, Mediheal Group of Hospitals, Kenya and Mr. Bibhu Mohapatra, Fashion Designer and Costume Designer, New York.
On this historic occasion, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all the stakeholders of KIIT for their unflinching support. I would like to express my thanks to all the well-wishers of KISS for their love, affection, and belief in our cause. I owe a debt of gratitude to the staff and students of KIIT and KISS for their untiring efforts to help KISS reach the level it is today.
KISS, which started as an idea that turned into a revolution calling for the creation of more prototypes, has always vouched to provide a local solution to a global problem. We envisage the KISS Deemed to be University to stand as a think tank for tribal related issues of importance, to academic debate, discuss and critically analyse the tribal policies, laws, culture, and importance and offer solutions to KISS for its continuous improvement in course of evolution in particular and to the wider society in general.
And as Earnest Hemingway puts, ‘There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.’, KISS Deemed to be University will always go forward and get better with all humility in its endeavor towards excellence.