About 15 years ago, Kannan Ambalam was among the several thousand civil service aspirants in the country. Despite being unsuccessful in all his seven attempts to clear the civil services exams, this 43-year-old native of Tamil Nadu is now an inspiration to several youth and local communities in Ethiopia.
An associate professor teaching public administration in Wollega University in Nekemte in Western Oromia region of Ethiopia, with no formal training in civil engineering or water-related issues, Mr. Ambalam is now the man behind the construction of 48 small bridges and 28 water springs in the African country.
Banking on documentaries on the internet for basics of constructing bridges and depending on his students and locals in neighbouring villages for their labour, Mr. Ambalam mobilises materials for bridges and constructs them in his free time.
“It all started when I saw an elderly woman attempting to cross a stream. We helped her cross it by laying two trees across the stream. It has been a long way since,” recalls the Ph.D. holder from Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
On hearing about his good work, neighbouring villages invited him to construct small bridges in their areas too.
“Construction is a costly affair here and hence there are not many bridges. But we wanted to show how people can come together and build a bridge for themselves, which can improve their lives,” says Mr. Ambalam. He says he draws inspiration from British civil engineer John Pennycuick, who built the Mullaperiyar dam.
Mr. Ambalam and his students have built bridges up to 24m in length and 4m in breadth. “We are not professional engineers but with these bridges, people’s income has increased, dropout rate in schools has come down and access to healthcare has improved. We don’t charge anything and we are not a company. We are only a group of youngsters believing in indigenous solutions for existing problems. We have also constructed a checkdam to benefit farmers here.”
Acknowledging his disappointment on not clearing the civil service exams, the native of Pondhugampatty near Alanganallur in Madurai district just didn't give up on community service. “I thought, if I had become an IAS officer, I could have done more to the people around me. But I did not succeed. I still wanted to help people around me and that is who I am,” he says.
He fondly recalls his teacher Kuppusamy from a government school in Palamedu, who encouraged him to take up community service. “Most of the trees on that campus now are those which I planted. I was interested in gardening. It continued during my NSS days in Thiagarajar College, my MCC days as well as when I was president of Jhelum Hostel in JNU.”
The challenges of understanding the local language Asan Oromo or financial resources needed for the projects have never stopped him from going ahead with his mission. “I may not speak the language like them but the locals here realise my intention and help me. When I work along with them without shoes, they know I am one among them,” he says.