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