Vibi Yhokha
Kohima | September 16
In a cramped up garage near KOHIMAS hospital, Keziekie Secretariat road, about 30 students are studying, assisted by two young volunteers in a garage turned tuition centre. While some voices are audible, the rest are all immersed quietly in their books.
Named ‘Each one, teach one’, the free tuition centre was set up by Theologian and Social Worker Kethosilie Sorhie, who for a very long time had dreamed and planned the idea of a community service where people can volunteer and where the society can benefit. The centre is run purely on volunteer basis, volunteers who can devote at least an hour to teach school children.
After looking around for spaces to start the tuition centre, Sorhie finally found an unused garage at the Keziekie Secretariat road, which was provided free of cost by the house owner Shwenile Chietsü.
The centre was opened on June 12 on the ‘World Day against Child Labour.’ Sorhie had carefully coincided the opening on a significant day having worked as a volunteer at the CHILDLINE service rescuing children from forced labour and abuse.
Education, and precisely quality education, is a crucial factor that provides a breakthrough for children from the cycle of poverty and forced labour.
“Uneducated parents are not able to teach their children. And although a lot of parents want to send their children for tuitions, they are not able to afford the tuition fees,” says Sorhie, who also noted that many students, especially in government schools, do not even know how to read and write despite going to school.
A key idea behind the free tuition centre, according to Sorhie, is to inspire the students, especially the lesser privileged, to become confident and empowered by enabling them to “speak well, write well, read well” and instill “creative and passionate learning.” Besides assisting them in their daily lessons, the centre also aims to improve English speaking of each student as well as inculcate artistic and moral values.
23 year old Lireni who works at Guwahati is currently at home for vacation and volunteering at the tuition centre. “I love teaching, so I am really enjoying it,” she says. 
The tutors are all volunteers. At present, the tuition centre has five volunteer teachers and 36 students (both from government and private schools). Tuitions are held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 4:30pm till 5:30pm. Sometimes it goes on till 6 pm or more, says Sorhie, to make sure that the students learn and complete their assignments.
21 years old Kevisenuo from Alder College Kohima who also volunteers at the center says, “I have a passion to teach and it gives me joy.”
Although the center is just a few months old, Sorhie is hopeful that more volunteers will join and that the center is expanded in other areas of Kohima too. At the moment, the center is direly in need of more volunteers who can teach Math and Science, especially for students in higher classes.
“What we want to give back to the community is to build people of integrity, self-respect and moral courage. At the centre, we aspire to transform each student to become independent learners prepared to meet academic and personal challenges,” expresses Sorhie.
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