On the bookshelf behind me is a statuette of the Hindu god Ganesha, remover of obstacles.
When I was sitting chewing my pencil, attempting something for The Oldie’s Jeremy Lewis Prize for new writers, I promised Ganesha that if he helped me win, I’d give the money away.
It’s going to Barefoot College Tilonia, in Rajasthan. But the college is just one of thousands of organisations working to improve the lives of the poor all over the world. Why is it special? For me, this is why.
Fifty-five years ago, a well-born, very highly educated young man rejected a glittering future to labour alongside the poorest of his country, India, digging wells out of the stony desert.
Bunker Roy, born
