A journey towards change

[Applause]

folks

i would be talking to you about a topic

which

i feel i know the best in the whole

world because

i will be talking to you about the life

journey so far my life stories

my vision and the dream forward

growing up from this small town

of tamang long district here in manipur

which

many of you might not have even heard of

life was tough difficult and challenging

yes

everyone has their own stories of

difficulties so

here is my story not even a single

second have i complained

to the people that i have faced

difficulties

and challenges beyond a point where i

cannot

overcome these challenges in fact most

of the time i thank god and i’ve been

speaking to

people and the friends around me that

growing up from this place

has been a blessing to me because it is

this environment that has challenged me

and has given me the willpower

to survive and overcome many of the

challenges

growing up from this village born and

brought up from

a village where it is over 60 kilometers

from the district headquarters

called district headquarters from this

village called impoverish

i remember where i had to walk

for at least two days on foot

and then not able to reach the

destination we used to spend on night

in a village in between the next morning

you wake up

to walk again with swollen legs but

still

we go on having seen

all of these challenges and more so

growing up from a family

where my mom is a house

maker a homemaker who never went

to a school my dad would never pass his

class

10 exam but became a school teacher

and brought up with a seven siblings

life was

indeed challenging i remember

whenever we have vacations my dad would

take me to

take us to places where we have to earn

a little extra income to support us in

our education

whatever be all of these challenges it

only made

our willpower stronger to overcome

all of this with a shared determination

to do well in life

why i chose this job the first thing

was if i become

a person who can bring a solution to all

the problems that i had faced

in life what better could it be

the problems that i faced growing up

as a kid i want to be a part of that

solution

to be able to change the lives of the

people

who otherwise would be facing similar

problems

that i already faced second thing

i think beyond me myself and i

i want to impact the people around me so

that

by choosing this job yes armstrong has

been able to make some differences

the third thing why i chose this job yes

it was a difficult thing for me

growing up from this small town to be

competing with some of the best minds in

the country

those who had studied in some of the

finest schools

it would have been challenge it would be

an extremely

big challenge but i love that

challenges and

folks today i’m extremely happy to tell

you

that god has blessed me to overcome

some of these dreams and here i am today

working as an ias officer

for the last 12 years

i remember a time where i first

heard this term of an ias officer

well i was in third standard doing my

most spots for 15 august

with all my clothes drained drenched

in rain and walking on a muddy ground

after the most part i asked my teacher

whom

are we saluting

my teachers say he is the deputy

commissioner of the district under whom

so many changes

can be brought forth since that day

it got imprinted on my mind that i want

to be that person

who is able to bring changes in my town

and here folks i’m so happy to tell you

that

for the last two and years

or so i’ve been serving here as a

district magistrate

i might not have brought tremendous

changes to the people around me

but in every little possible

ways whatever i can whenever

opportunities is being created i try to

bring

changes to the people around me

sorry so today i’m happy to tell you

that i

wake up every morning with a purpose

with a vision

to bring smile in the lives of the

people around me

when i wake up at seven o’clock in the

morning after my

workout a workout there are people

waiting for me in my bungalow

i meet them if i’m able to bring some

changes

i try my best believe me i do not leave

any stone

unturned if it is in my

position capacity to bring changes

to their lives here i want to share with

you

few examples which has brought me

tremendous satisfactions

in the work that i’ve been doing in 2012

june when i was posted as

the subdivisional magistrate

of one of the remotest part

of the country where i also happen to be

born

from that place thousand subdivisions

i remember there was no road so i had to

walk

to most of the villages on foot

and if you can also see in my

presentation

in the pictures you would see a lit

you know sucking my blood on my neck

that was in 2012

june i had to tour to one of the most

remotest village

called katangnam and katyang walking on

foot on a hot summer sun

there when i went to meet the village

elders

i discussed with them what do you

want what changes do you want one of the

elders

said you know the road is what we need

the most but it is extremely difficult

i have been the chairman of this village

for the last 32

years and i have knocked at every

possible doris who

ran from peter to post to get this road

done

but impossible it has not been done

today

i have stopped becoming a chairman and

still there is no

changes i asked him let us do something

about it

let us bring the road to your village he

was

laughing at all of my team

he said it’s extremely difficult and he

challenged me with this

if this road is done i’m gonna offer you

my biggest

bulls that is metoons

after eight long months of struggling

working extremely hard with all of these

villagers

we were able to integrate this people’s

road on the 18th of february 2013.

folks this road was by no means an

easy talks people from over 25 countries

came together

to work together for this purpose

villagers including women and children

would come out with sped and dao

right from the morning at 7 00 am and

work

till sunset to make sure that this road

is

a successful project i just initiate it

i encourage them

i told them this is our road we got to

build this road together

the rest is history

and today folks because of this road

the lives of the people there in

this area has changed tremendously

i remember on the 27th of december

last year in between christmases

i visited them they were

extremely happily happily meeting me

you know one of the women came up to me

and say in 2014

i almost died at a child birth

because of complication and the child

during the child birth

i was taken down to the nearest hospital

in assam

because of this road i survived

i was taken down to the hospital i got

operated upon

and today here i am so healthy and

safe with the child that i gave birth to

in 2014 this incident would have killed

me

but because of this road i’m here today

and i

am presenting you a soul because of the

happiness

that i am here today because of this

road

what a life-changing experiences for me

i interacted with few of the villagers

there

i asked them what are you today earning

they say it’s of the family members is

el

each of the household here is able to

earn

not less than a lack because

of this road we’ve been able to raid

grow ginger and

we’ve been able to get good incomes

selling it

every season what are changes we’ve been

able to bring

folks today i am the most happy man

because

the government of india has decided to

adopt this

as a national highway project and it

is the newest highway in the entire

country

the name of this national highway is

national highway number 137

the road construction is going to start

in the next one two months from now

and this road will enable my

people sitting in their village waiting

for a bus

to take them to singapore because this

will be a trans

asian highway not only a national

highway

this brings me tremendous happiness and

satisfaction

another story in 2013

april when i went to integrate a small

road which i

organized together with the villagers

in a village called jungkook

i came across this family seven children

the eldest one was serving me tea

he she was speaking to my friend

in pretty good english so i asked her

where

are you studying she said i came back

from kohima i was supposed to write my

class and exam but because there is no

one to take care of my family members

i had now come back to my village

i was pretty surprised and suck what

happened she said

my mom died of malaria in 2000

11 and my father passed away in 2012

because of a snake bite and i have six

other siblings to take care of

the youngest one as young as three years

old

it touched my heart i said i gotta do

something about it

i send two of our younger sister to a

residential school

free of cost with all supports to be

given by the government

the remain the two brothers

we send them to the town to study in

uh the in one of the finest school here

in town

to be supported by me the third

example i came across this

one girl after the church service some

women folks were

discussing oh this girl

she got such a high mark in her 12th

standard

but she now has to go back because

there’s no one to support

her after her class 12 exam i

overheard the conversation so i went

and met this group of women who were

discussing this

i asked who we see can you please send

her to meet me

in my home in the

same day afternoon she came with her

auntie

i asked her what do you want to pursue

what do you want to do

so he said

i want to be in a job where i would get

an employment

possibility at the earliest so that i

can support the rest of my family

members there are still four of my

brothers and sisters who wants to study

okay you want to do nursing yes that’s

what i’ve been thinking of

so i said okay now pack your bag

tomorrow

i’m gonna send you to one of the finest

nursing colleagues in the town

or in the reason i sent her to dimappur

i told her to give an entrance test she

came out

number one in the entrance test and

folks i’m so happy to tell you that

c topped her d m and then

she is now in her second year of bse

nursing totally sponsored

what a satisfaction today she’s so happy

that after she finished

her busy nursing she’s looking for an

opportunity to even go abroad

so that she can earn sufficient money

and be able to

support the rest of our children rest of

our siblings

so much of satisfaction it brings me to

tears

to be sharing with all of you such an

incredible

touching stories

folks these are some of the

opportunities

that god has blessed me through this job

you know there is so much of

satisfaction

you can be in many other jobs you can be

an entrepreneur you can be

in a business you can be in different

professions

be in the garment sector or be in the

private sectors

but what i want to tell you folks today

is

continue looking out for an opportunity

to bring changes to the people around

you

this is my message to all of you this

morning

opportunities have been given to me and

i try my best to make sure that i

make use of these opportunities to the

fullest folks believe me

serving here in this part of the country

being a part of changing our nation

changing the citizens of our fellow

uh changing the lives of our fellow

citizens

to build our nation a stronger one

a nation as we rush towards

making our country a developed nation

the effort that i put in every day

the effort that you are called to put in

every day

is tremendous so make the best use of it

live your life to the fullest every

possible day

and join me in our effort

of bringing changes together god bless

you all

and i look forward to coming and

addressing you

and your campus one fine day thank you

and god bless all of you