There are a few memories that have stayed with Robin Hibu, IPS officer and founder and President of Helping Hand NGO for over thirty years. He worked menial jobs to finance his education, lived in a godown in Arunachal Bhavan in Delhi and sometimes skipped meals to save money. But from all these memories of pain and struggle, one memory stands out for the IPS officer who now serves as Special Commissioner of Police at the Delhi Armed Police.
It is the memory of how he enrolled in a coaching institute to become the IPS officer he is today.
Hibu had grown up in a humble family in the village of Hong in Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, with his father, a woodcutter providing for the family. He attended school in the village which had no electricity.
He later studied in a government school and joined a local college in Arunachal Pradesh. With big dreams and aspirations, he moved to Delhi and completed his Masters from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Hibu had the desire to appear for Civil exams but he did not have the financial backing to attend coaching institutes. With no other option, he went to the office of the director of Rao Coaching Insitute in Delhi and wept as he told him his problem.
Speaking to EastMojo, Hibu shared his experience saying “I wept in front of him I can’t afford to pay the fees, please help me. He was so deeply moved he hugged me and gave me a concession of around 40%.”
Believing it is his duty to give back to society, Hibu started an NGO called Helping Hands which offers various social services for people from the Northeast such as blood donation, providing oxygen and cremation and burial services for the poor.
Among the many services, he is also working towards supporting IAS aspirants from the Northeast.
As per their latest endeavour, Robin Hibu through his NGO Helping Hands in partnership with ALS CSR initiative will be providing IAS scholarship worth Rs 3 crore to aspirants from the Northeast. The official announcement will be made on December 21, 2023.
Commenting on their tie-up, he said, “Every year maximum of the eligible candidates are from these IAS coaching institutes most of our aspirants from the Northeast are not from good family backgrounds. They cannot afford to pay so much, even if they are able to pay money for coaching, they cannot afford come to Delhi due to the high cost of living.”
“Our NGO did research and after a lot of introspection with community and church leaders decided that we can tie up with professional coaching institutes. As Helping Hand, we reached the top 5 coaching institutes, most of them are very selfish except ALS. They have emotional attachment as they started with candidates from Northeast: one owner is from Kerela and one is from Bihar, they have decided to put all their CSR funds for Northeast boys and girls,” said the IPS officer.
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ALS Institute has produced over a thousand successful aspirants since 2013 including aspirants from various states of the Northeast.
The President of Helping Hand also commented on the low number of successful UPSC candidates in the Northeast saying, “(It is) because our education system is not that competitive oriented like in Delhi or in other metropolitan cities. We do not get materials and proper guidelines from UPSC aspirants and there is no proper guidance.”
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