Rowling Just Made the Day for a Small School in Jammu & Kashmir

Twelve-year-old Kulsum received a response from the legend JK Rowling herself!

Rowling reached out to 12-year-old Kulsum on Twitter.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

“May Allah bless JK Rowling and give her a long life so that when I grow up, I get to meet her,” wrote 12-year-old Kulsum Banoo Batt. Little did she know that a surprise was in store for her.

When Kulsum’s teachers posted a picture of her essay on Twitter, she received a response from the Harry Potter creator Rowling herself!

School Across the Chenab

Kulsum is a student of Haji Public School, a privately run non-profit school in Breswana, a Himalayan village in the Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Haji Public School, Breswana, Jammu and Kashmir.

Located at an altitude of more than 8,000 ft, across the bridge over the Chenab in Premnagar, the school is accessible after a seven kilometre hike, either on foot or on horseback.

The aim of the school is to make education accessible to children from diverse communities from the surrounding remote villages.

Students of Haji Public School come from the neighbouring remote villages.

The school not only boasts of quality academic curriculum, but also offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including music, movies, dramatics, public speaking, and sports.

Among its unique activities is rock climbing.

What is particularly noteworthy is that sports activities offered by the school are pursued by students across genders.

Turning Dreams Into Reality, One Tweet at a Time

In a 2015 TEDTalk, the school’s young director, Sabbah Haji narrates the history of the school and highlights the role played by the internet, especially Twitter, in giving visibility to the school and its activities.

Sabbah Haji with students of Haji Public School.

Nobody would have known about the school if it hadn’t been for the internet. Twitter has been great. I almost need to keep spamming to the world about the things we are doing. These updates have given us visibility.

Sabbah Haji, Director of Haji Public School

This is what Haji has to say about Rowling’s tweet on Kulsum’s essay.

#HajiPublicSchool Has a Long Way to Go

One can follow the school’s activities using the hashtag #HajiPublicSchool on Twitter.

Social media visibility has also helped connect the school with volunteers. The school now offers a dedicated volunteer program, attended by people from different parts of India, as well as the world.

Growing up and learning in the mountains might sound exciting to some, but there is a long way to go for schools like Haji Public School as far as attracting volunteers, government attention, and funding is concerned.

Despite the problems, there are many like Kulsum who are working very hard to achieve their dreams, and a tweet from Rowling does act as an added motivation.

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