Inspiring Story Of How A Manual Labourer In Kerala Became A Software Engineer In The UK

Many of us are aware of how tribal communities are discriminated against in our country. From rampant abuse to social isolation, their lives are but a series of obstacles standing in the way of the simplest of things. However, Binesh Balan’s story is an inspiration for not just the tribal community but for all of us.

Binesh Balan, a guy from Kerala, faced discrimination and insult in every aspect of his life. He was the son of a manual labourer, a coolie, and hence, knew well what financial struggle was. According to an earlier report by Rediff, there were days when he had no rice at home and had to only eat jackfruit seeds.

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When he was young, he worked as a manual labourer too. In school, he struggled with even passing most of his subjects. His teachers never invested their time and attention on him, thereby making him believe that he wasn’t worthy of attention.

It was when he was in class 7 that Binesh was introduced to computers. A classmate took him to a internet cafe to play videogames and Binesh was absolutely smitten by the box in front of him. He had to learn everything about it!

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Soon, with the help of books and internet cafes, he learnt different programming languages and how to operate the computer in its full potential. As time passed, he became a champion of computers in his class, scoring perfectly in his tests. So much so that sometimes even his teachers sought his help! He went on to study Developmental Economics and later pursued his MBA.

According to The New Indian Express, Binesh faced obstacles during college admissions, seeking scholarships to study abroad, and by everyone around him in general. Teachers sneered at him, his classmates avoided him, and the society insulted him. Despite them all, he went to the UK under a central government scholarship to study at the University of Sussex.

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“I had to work as a cleaning boy from 4 am to 8 am in Sussex since the scholarship amount did not suffice,” he said.

Currently, Binesh is working on an open banking system and has launched an app related to it. He hopes for it to become ‘the’ banking software for future generations.

Binesh’s story is that of relentless hard work, hope, and courage. If you are someone who is struggling right now, we hope you find some inspiration in this story.

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