She is not an inch over 5 ft in height, but Jemamani Munda is standing testimony to appearances being deceptive. Swarthy, frail and burdened by a distracting spinal deformity, there seems little that is special about this 32-year-old tribal woman living in Orissa's forested interiors. But then, ask any of the tribals in her neighbourhood and they will readily vouch that Munda-they lovingly call her Jema-is very special indeed.

LEADER STAND: Jema has given her fellow tribals enough reasons to dream.

She is after all a dream seller. The tribals of Kendujharghar district, adrift on the sea of hopelessness, have been shown a ray of hope amid poverty by the otherwise ordinary tribal woman who grew up virtually unnoticed among them. It was Jema who enthused them with her indomitable spirit and urged them to work together to address their needs. Her message to them: take charge of your own destinies.

What have caught the tribals' imagination are Jemamani's leadership qualities and her innate ability to harness people power, which is suddenly on display in Ghasipura's hill-ringed backyards. Mud roads now link several villages that were inaccessible even during the best of times. Wells have been sunk. Also making up for the absence of an educational institution in the immediate neighbourhood is a primary school run in a thatched hut in Jema's own village, Kasibeda.

These small initiatives have not changed the lives of the tribals dramatically-they continue to be as poor as always. "But everyone is a bit taller and prouder than ever before in the past," says Jema. Not many would disagree with the rustic motivator, who herself ekes out a living working at an anganwadi centre in a neighbouring village for a monthly stipend of Rs 450. Her spare time is spent visiting her neighbours and impressing upon them the importance of collectives.

"Jema has taught the tribals to be self-dependent," gushes Pitambar Mahakudu, a villager. Which is just as well since the local administration could never be depended on to redress the genuine grievances of the people. For years the tribals suffered silently until homegrown Jema came of age and decided to take charge. "For too long, grievances were piling up and waiting for solutions," is Jema's simple explanation for what she is doing.

The solutions were not too difficult to find. At Jema's prodding, the tribals went to work with their spades, and before long there were wells in Nagadahi, Nialijharana and Sapagodo. Serpentine roads through dense forests were laid from Nialijharana to Nagadahi and to Balughati. Forests were protected and 10,000 saplings planted. A pond is being dug in Kasibeda.

Away from the glare of the world, Jema has silently gone on to become a part of local folklore. Though fame and recognition have eluded her so far-unlike in the case of other celebrated tribal women leaders in the state like Sumani Jharia and Tulasi Munda-her status is unmatched. "For the nine villages, 700 families and 5,000 people she has been working among, Jemamani is a goddess," insists Aloke Mishra, a businessman.

Jema's word is treated as a command and tribals are ever ready to carry out her orders. They volunteered to work every Sunday for two years to lay the roads. The wells took months. The pond in Kasibeda may take a couple of years. But no one is complaining. Including the four women teachers of the Jaheraya Kanyashram, the school that the intrepid Jema runs. But for the free meals-the villagers pool in to provide the rice, dal and vegetables-the teachers are not paid a paisa.

Jema, like all crusaders before her, has her share of complaints. She has been going around in circles for years to get financial aid for her school. Local officials in charge of the World Bank-funded District Primary Education Programme have kept her waiting with the promise that they would sympathetically consider her school's case. Jema's wait will probably be in vain as the five-year programme ends in November and there is no inkling that the thatch-roof school will get some sorely needed funds. "If only the world paid us more attention," laments Jema.

Jema was recently subjected to some unwelcome attention-a political party that wants to use her hold over the tribals for its own political ends approached her. Jemamani rebuffed the party and instead concentrated on planning a fair-weather road for her village. "It will take a lot of labour," she sighs. In changing the lives of her fellow tribals for the better, Jemamani Munda is readying for a long haul.