mustard seeds
Calcutta 100
Club
December 2014
I’d like to introduce the next Calcutta 100 Club campaign.
As you know, the idea for this club is that no one breaks the bank but together
we all add a donation of $10 (or more if you feel like it) in order to reach a goal
that may have meaning to someone else’s life.
For this particular project I have already received a portion of the total
donation of $450 so I am looking for approximately $100 more to begin a vocational
skills program at a school that runs alongside a brick factory in Kharmagachi. The program was introduced to me by my friend Willeke van Nieuwenhuijze from Stichting Help2Help, who does fundraising in Holland for several projects in West Bengal. I felt this request was well suited to Mustard Seeds: as the children are
already doing studies in the morning this will allow the school to get an arts
and crafts teacher and basic materials in order to keep the children out of the
factory (where they end up working without being paid) and occupied for more of
the day.
Our friends at Stichting Help2Help have pledged
to provide for a crèche to be set up at the school since many of the students
bring along small babies that sit in their laps and require their attention
during classes. We would like to help get the vocational program in place. Our pledge is for the vocational Arts and Crafts program
(teacher and supplies) that will run for the 7 months of the year that parents migrate
to Kharmagachi to work at the factory. We hope to help support this in the future if it takes off well.
**A special THANK YOU TO Chris Rickerd, Lisa Malaney, Mary Hurley and Jude Hill, who have already donated the first $350 for this Calcutta 100 Club campaign.
BUDGET FOR Vocational Training center (9:30 am to 2:00 pm)
School sharing grounds of the brick factory / target: 30
senior students
Art & Craft teacher: Rs. 2,000 x 7
mos. = Rs. 14,000
Art materials: Rs. 2,000
X 7 mos. = Rs. 14,000
Total: 28,000 (US$450)
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE:
If you would like to contribute to the vocational program from the US, please send your donation by paypal with a note that says CALCUTTA 100:
mseeds.maura@gmail and if you prefer to send a US check please email me on the
same mail and I can tell you how.
If you would like to contribute in Japan, please use postal
transfer yuubin furikomi:
mustard seeds, japan
00980-9-30045
Background
Nandankanan Sristwi Mahila Unnayan Samity (NKSMUS), founded by Shelley Chatterjee, has
successfully been running a school in the factory area of Khamargachi Bricks.
Approximately 56 students are receiving education and medical help. Students
are provided with school supplies (books, copies, pencils, erasure etc.) and
take drawing classes as an extracurricular activity. They attend the drawing
classes very joyfully. Most of the students are very regular in class. The
school runs from 7 to 9 am in the winter and 6:30 to 8:30 am in the summer.
After running the school for three years we found that some families return the
next year, so we are getting some of the old students back to our school. They
are encouraging the other students to be regular in their classes. Guardians are
also very interested to send their children to the school. Tiffin is one of the attractions for the
students at the school; they are very happy to get a balanced meal. 50 students
received woolen sweaters last winter. They are very happy to get those. The group would like to expand the program so that
children have more to do after school and also so that they do not have to care
for the young siblings they bring along with them.
Problems faced
All parents head to the brick factory for work after dropping
their children at school. This means that some children are coming to school
with their younger brothers and sisters in their laps; these are infants and
toddlers who are too tiny too walk (between 8 months to 1 ½ years old). There
is no one at home to look after these babies so the older siblings, aged 7 and
8, bring them and keep them in their laps all day. These students are unable to fully
concentrate on their studies. The situation is disturbing to the whole class
because the babies cry, wet and require special attention.
This organization
opened in the grounds of the factory in order to provide education to children,
while putting a stop to child labour at the brick factory. The owner of the
factory is of the same mind and has provided a school room, however after
school finishes at 9 am most of the children run to work at the factory. They
are between 10 and 14 years old. Some are working and others are disturbing the
work their parents are required to do (the opinion of the factory owner). This
is hampering our efforts to stop child labour so we have set forth the
following new proposal.
PROPOSAL
NKSMUS is planning something new to support education at the
Brick factory school and we ask for support.
1.
For the babies coming with older students,
we propose to start a crèche. In order to care for the babies, we need: a room ,
a staff person, toys and food. (THIS
WILL BE FUNDED BY STICHTING HELP2HELP)
2.
For those children working in the brick
factory after school (10 am - 1.30 pm), we propose vocational training classes
(VTC). We hope to have art and craft class, music class, handicraft classes,
and exposure to other types of work to help them settle in a different way in
future. The class will help them understand their talents and skills since not
all children excel in studies or have the means to do well in a school
setting. Through this program they can
progress in their life in different way. We need: a room, materials and at least two
staff people. (MUSTARD SEEDS WOULD LIKE
TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LAUNCH OF THIS PROGRAM)
