Thank you UCA: 'Saint of Letters' Harekala Hajabba enters new house

Mangaluru, Feb 8: "I never dreamt of living in a house that is worth Rs 15 lakh in my life. Today I am extremely happy, thankful and I pray for the well-being of the donor, who built a house for me," said Harekala Hajabba, 61, who is popularly known as 'Akshara Santha' or 'Saint of Letters'

Despite being an uneducated, Hajabba fought tirelessly to build built a government school at Newpadpu in Harekala about 20 kms here by pooling money he earned and by seeking donors help. However, he had forgotten to build a house for his wife and three children. Hajabba was worried about his family very much, but he never showed it to others. At this juncture, the United Christian Association (UCA) has come forward to build 760 sqft house at a cost of Rs 15 lakh for Hajabba. On Sunday, a house warming ceremony was held in the presence of Muslim clergies, UCA president Alban Menezes, Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel and minister for health and family welfare U T Khader.

"I am an ordinary man and I have not earned a single rupee for myself. On September 13, 2004, there were no chairs in my house when four journalists came to talk to me about my struggle for a school in my village. Now I own this houses only because of media persons and organisations like United Christian Association," said Hajabba, who left no stones unturned to start a government school in his village and later to construct a new block for it.

Hajabba, who has been selling orange near State Bank bus stand, was literally struggling to meet both ends at his partially damaged tiled roof house, where five member family with ailing wife were living. In fact, it is the initiative of UCA president Alban Menezes, a young builder in the city, that led to construction of a two bed room RCC house for Hajabba.

"I understood the problems of Hajabba when he was admitted to hospital. Doctors, who treated Hajabba, told me that he was suffering from anxiety due to poverty. I felt really sad when I saw a great achiever suffering from poverty and living in a dilapidated house. Hence, I decided to construct a house for him through UCA. While nearly 1.5 lakh was collected through UCA members, I spent nearly Rs 13.5 lakh. Very soon, I will provide compound wall and gate for his house spending additional Rs 2 lakh," said Alban Menezes, who had donated many houses and did several charity works earlier.

Menezes said that a separate space has been provided in the new house for Hajabba to display all awards, citations and mementos he received during his journey as a crusader of education.