Shachi Gurumayum: The Switzerland based recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman is changing lives in Manipur

 “When I was leaving India, I knew I would do something for Manipur one day. I just didn’t know what and when.” Dr Shachi Gurumayum’s determination only grew over the years and in 2017, he started the MaolKeki Foundation. Named after his grandparents, the foundation works to uplift people in Manipur through social initiatives in agriculture, education and healthcare. In 2021, his efforts earned him the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.  

Indian Philanthropist | Shachi Gurumayum | Global Indian

Shachi Gurumayum during a field visit in Manipur

Born and raised in Manipur, Shachi is the founder and director of Switzerland-based AgriMayum, which stands for ‘House of Agriculture’. He also advises the World Benchmarking Alliance (Amsterdam), LadyAgri (Brussels) and is part of the Board of Sahel Consulting (Lagos). 

Giving back 

“I believe that if you are blessed, you share your blessings,” Shachi tells Global Indian connecting from Switzerland.

Growing up in Manipur, the son of an engineer father and a teacher mother, Shachi has happy recollections of his childhood. The community where he grew up comprised of smallholder farmers who lived a remote, very rural life. “There was no electricity, no infrastructure and a lot of civil society issues,” he says. It’s now that the urbanisation is creeping in, it was all marshland then.

If you are able to come out of such a rural environment and achieve something in life, you have to give back. It’s not just money, it’s also about sharing the knowledge and skills you have acquired over the years.

Manipur, which stands for the ‘land of gems’ has a special significance in the entrepreneur’s heart. It’s where his parents spent all their life. When Shachi started MaolKeki Foundation, he made his parents its trustees.

Finding his feet  

“I remember my father scolding me in class seven or so because I came back home ranking towards the end of 30 students in the class almost flunking in math,” he smiles. “My father said, ‘an engineer’s son cannot flunk in math.

The carefree Manipur lad grew into an extraordinary student when he moved to boarding school in Karnataka, where he finished high school. That transformation would remain with him through his life. “I won the medal for being the school topper,” he says. From there, he went on to study Chemistry at St Stephen’s College, Delhi. After that, he earned his Master’s and a PhD from the University of Bristol in the UK. 

A series of scholarships carried him through his educational career, from his bachelor’s degree in Delhi to his MSc in Surface and Colloid Science and later PhD in the same subject in the UK. “It’s very expensive to study in the UK otherwise and was certainly out of my reach if it had not been for the full scholarship,” he remarks. 


Source : https://www.globalindian.com/story/global-indian-exclusive/shachi-gurumayum-europe-based-recipient-of-pravasi-bharatiya-samman-impacts-manipur/

Location: Manipur, India

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