The teacher from Dombautiya

Tudu's efforts have had quite an impact on her village. She's been able to convince three dropouts to return to school

Before the last Assembly elections, a report by a team of public health experts from Harvard University and Tata Trusts placed Singhbhum, the predominantly tribal region in Jharkhand, at the bottom of all Indian constituencies when it came to child nutrition indicators. It estimated that a huge chunk of Singhbhum’s underfed children are likely to die young; the ones who survive are likely to have impaired physical and cognitive development and reduced performance levels at school. “This is exactly what I’ve experienced growing up,” said 19-year-old Sarathi Tudu from village Dombautiya in Singhbhum. “Boys my age drop out to work,