Onika Maheshwari/New Delhi

"I was the first child in my family to go to school. My father is a farmer. Based on my own experience, I decided that no child should be deprived of education."  Kifayatullah Malik, a social worker from Kashmir who received the prestigious President's Award for National Social Service in 2021-22, said.

Hailing from a small village in Bandipora, north Kashmir, Kifayatullah Malik, 25, is a dedicated social worker and mountaineer. He is deeply committed to bringing about change through education and empowering the youth.

Speaking with Awaz-The Voice, he says, "I work to motivate children living in hilly areas to attend school. I also encourage them to participate in sports, as my primary mission is lifting the underprivileged children.

Kifayatullah Malik at an awards ceremony

Kifayatullah completed his schooling at Boys' Middle School, Lavepora, and earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology and Political Science from Amar Singh College, Srinagar. He also completed a Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Kashmir.

He says that as a student, he was always actively involved in team activities. He saw many of his classmates dropping out of school due to financial constraints or domestic hardships. It was these experiences that laid the foundation for his resolve to do something meaningful for society.

During his college days, Kifayatullah formed a strong group of like-minded youths dedicated to bringing school dropouts back into the mainstream. Propelling this mission forward through crowdfunding, he never looked back.

Kifayatullah Malik and students in winter centers

As Bandipora’s first professional mountaineer, he would take students on treks, offering them counselling and motivating them to pursue their education. Initially, he collected used books from friends and distributed them to children who could not afford to buy their own.

He says he provided Eid food kits to 205 families across six districts of Kashmir. “My larger initiative was the establishment of winter community learning centres in three villages - Chhandaji, Ketsan, and Reshwari - which get marooned due to snowfall during winter. In all these places, children had never received tutoring during the winter months."

Giving a reason for setting up the winter centre, he said the three-to four-month gap in schooling in winter often becomes a reason for students to leave school. Volunteers at these centres tutored some 400 school-going children during the winter months.

Kifayatullah Malik with students at Winter learning centers in a remote village

Local post-graduates and graduates were mobilised as volunteers. Under the 'Sunday for Society' initiative, private teachers from various academies were also engaged in working on children's communication, leadership, interpersonal, and personality development skills.

Kifayatullah says that due to a lack of livelihood opportunities during winter in remote areas mostly inhabited by tribal communities, many students can’t even afford stationery, which leads to many of them dropping out.

To bridge this gap, Kifayatullah’s team has provided stationery supplies to over 540 needy children so far. Additionally, they raised funds to provide marriage assistance in select cases and paved the way for higher education by paying the fees of meritorious students pursuing medical or nursing courses.

Kifayatullah Malik (extremne right) with volunteers carrying books and stationary for distribution

He also created skill development opportunities for rural women and female entrepreneurs. He uses his social media platforms to market and promote products made by women entrepreneurs from remote tribal areas, aiming to inspire other girls to become self-reliant.

Through these campaigns, they have discussed issues concerning women, informed communities about government schemes, promoted environmental conservation, and raised awareness among the youth about the dangers of drug abuse.

His initiative encompasses environmental conservation, education, drug de-addiction, tourism promotion, and humanitarian aid.

Kifayatullah Malik during his awareness campaign on environmental preservation

He works as a district coordinator for the 'Smartpur' project under REACHA (Research and Extension Association for Conservation of Horticulture and Agro-Forestry), and his job is to bridge the digital divide in remote areas of Kashmir.

Kifayatullah Malik’s efforts received national recognition when he received the President’s award from Droupadi Murmu. He also received the 'Best Forest Friend Award' from the Jammu & Kashmir Social Forestry Department, the 'Ambassador of Humanity Award 2024' (conferred upon ten individuals across ten different fields nationwide), the 2024 Social Service Award, the 'Global Human Rights Award,' and the 'ADG’s Appreciation Award 2019.'

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Kifayatullah signs off with this: "When your intentions are pure, everyone comes forward to help.