There are stories and events which have unrolled around humble fellow citizens which, if not told and re-told, would be equivalent to doing an injustice to them. One of these is Vijay Bhunjun a school leaver in Form 3, vegetable seller, craving for education and flying with colours through the Qualifying Test and Cambridge School Certificate.

The 70ˢ were years of tribulation, of revolution, of debates and forums. Reading materials were dominated by the Maspero publications, third world political literature and ‘softer’ publications from international organisations, namely the ILO obtained through Trade Unions and UNESCO Courrier. He abandoned being a hawker and joined the Teachers’ Training College, a prestige for the village boy of Riviere du Poste. The constant reading of past copies of the Courrier, never mind if they were outdated, created awareness in a young man thirsty for knowledge. A three-person leadership, Mahen Busgopaul, the author of this story and Vijay started a pilgrimage travelling by bus or moving long distances on foot to meet with colleagues, youth leaders, college principals and rectors, and workers across the island: Nouvelle France, Surinam, Riviere des Anguilles, Curepipe, Rose-Hill, Sebastopol, Triolet to name a few. After nine months of campaign the National Federation of UNESCO Clubs was born and registered with the Ministry of Education.

Vijay attended the 1ˢͭ and 2ⁿͩ World Congress of UNESCO Clubs in Paris and his vibrant advocacy for dissemination of educational, scientific and cultural knowledge gained him the respect of the 100 delegates most of whom were learning about the existence of Mauritius. The video calls or mails were no part of man’s imagination then. As a stalwart Vijay pushed the Federation to become a respected stakeholder of the Ministry of Education through organizing ‘talks’, debates and quiz competitions. Such activities even similar to those organized by Youth Clubs had the merit of bringing the notion of education, science and culture, and communication to the people. A very important windfall occurred as the members came closer to understanding the United Nations mechanism through its multiple organs.

The UNESCO movement gained a bigger momentum under the sterling leadership of Minister Armoogum Parsuramen, Minister of Education, who presided over the National Commission for UNESCO. The Commission leveraged the activities of the Federation with the inception of UNESCO Clubs in most secondary schools if not all. During this time, Vijay pushed for publications of souvenir magazines.

True, it was a team approach guided project but like in many organisations the leader is the one who inspires and when he settled in Trou aux Biches the inner force did not wane. To prevent fading enthusiasm Vijay jumped out of complacency and founded the Northern UNESCO Club Action Network: a very bold move which in turn has engendered the Northern UNESCO Club. The fire of the UNESCO idea is kept burning. The fire still burns today. Every year in association with the Rotary Club of Grand Baie the Federation participates in University and Career Expo attended by thousands of students.

How long will Vijay pursue his noble informal education mission? His involvement and engagement in andragogy will have to be upheld by the upcoming generation of youth leaders, policy makers, and social animators. Never mind the times have changed but the assistive instruments are available to make your actions easier, mobile phones, mails, video calls, multi-media.

Vijay will be known for his proclivity for hard work. He is not a retired head master. He is an educator in continued action.