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9th Foundation Day
On 8th of November 2008, the Foundation Day of Hope would be celebrated. All partner organizations would participate. Know More
OF HOPE KOLKATA FOUNDATION
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Child freed from 'tyrant' father Kid kept locked up for 2 months; Father tried to burn wife to death for dowry:
Kolkata: A three and a half year old girl, locked up by her father and grandfather in a Barasat house, was rescued by an NGO and reunited with her mother after two months. The father has been arrested.
On saturday an NGO from Kolkata received information about the little girl's plight and entered the house in Parkhariberia village with a police escort. Tuhina was rescued from the clutches of her father and taken to her mother.
Till Tuhina was rescued, few would have known that Arabul, the girl's father, had set his wife Muslima Bibi ablaze. for nearly, two months Muslima was fighting for her life in various hospitals in Barasat while Tuhina was locked up in the house.
"The child wanted to know where er were taking her. When we told her that she was being taken to her mother, she was dumbstruck. Till that moment, she knew that her mother was dead. Tuhina and Muslima were delighted to see each other after so many days," said Geeta Venkadakrishnan, director of Hope Kolkata Foundation. The child was even deprived of proper food at home.
Arabul and his father started torturing Muslima soon after marriage after her family failed to pay dowry. :The torture continued till they poured kerosene and set me on fire on March 18. I was first admitted to a private nursing home and then shifted to the Barasat sub-divisional hospital. Since then I have not been allowed to meet my daughter." Muslima told doctors from her hospital bed in Kolkata.
After members of the NGO took Tuhina to her mother, they realised that Muslima required better treatment. They immediately contacted Shankar Chatterjee, a renowned plastic surgeon, and requested him to visit the woman. Muslima was then shifted to a private nursing home in Kolkata under Chatterjee's care. Tuhina has been shifted to a child care home. While the doctor has waived his fees, the NGO has decided to bear the hospital cost.
"I went to the government hospital in Barasat on saturday with members of the NGO and was allowed to meet the patient. The work done by the doctors in Barasat is commendable, given the kind of facilities available there. Muslima has suffered over 60% burns and is still in a critical condition. Her mental condition is better now that she has met her daughter," Chatterjee said.
After Muslima was set on fire, her relatives lodged a complaint with the police on March 21. Though her father-in-law was arrested, Arabul managed to give police a slip. Muslima's father-in-law was released on bail later. Arabul was finally arrested on monday.
THE TIMES OF INDIA 24/04/2007
Under the hammer, for a cause
This event made the Saturday 'evening out' a very special one. We were invited to attend a charity gala, at a five-star hotel in the city, that was organised by an international charitable society which announced the commencement of its Kolkata branch on the same evening. To mark the occasion a special auction was organised to raise funds for a project that will help to rehabilitate girls that live around the platforms at Howrah railway station. A dekho at the donations
Actors Rituparna Sengupta and Raima Sen donated their dresses, while ace footballer Baichung Bhutia gave a jersey which was signed by FIFA President Sepp Blatter and himself, Saurav Ganguly sent an autographed bat which he had used during an international tour, ace golfer Simi Mehra donated a set of golf clubs and a tour bag while fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee gave the sari which was worn by Rani Mukherjee in a movie. Photo-op
The media was not allowed to be a part of the actual auction and neither were we allowed to click the cocktail and the dinner, but the special photo-op made up for that. Rituparna and Baichung couldn't make it to the event, so the mantle rested on Raima. After about 20 minutes of the photo-op, when we asked Raima to pose with Dada's bat, she said, "You guys are very late," but nonetheless obliged us. She picked up the bat and posed just like she had done for the countless pictures before this one. But when we explained that we wanted her to actually 'bat' - Raima gave us a smile and readily agreed to do it. It sometimes pays to be 'late'. What say, folks?
THE TELEGRAPH 23/04/2007
Hammer of help
The Royal Society of St. George Calcutta held a charity gala at the Oberoi Grand Hotel on Saturday night, with various items donated by celebrities going under the hammer; with diners snapping up the offerings.
Held in association with Apeejay Surrendra, the proceeds of the auction went to the Society for Educational and Environmental Development (SEED), a charity that helps youngsters, who drift into Howrah railway station's dark underbelly, get their lives back on track.
The donations for the auction included Saurav Ganguly's signed bat that he used on tour; Rani Mukherjee's dress from the film Baabul, Baichung Bhutia's football shirt and a set of golf clubs donated by pro golfer Simi Mehra. The clubs, in particular, became the object of a rather heated bidding war.
The event was attended by the British Deputy High Commissioner Simon Wilson, who raised "a toast to the leaders of both our countries; Her Majesty the Queen and the President of India."
Rituparna Sengupta could not attend as she had apparently sprained her ankle, nor could Baichung Bhutia. But actress model Raima Sen put in an appearance, playing her part during the lively auction sessions.
The meal for the evening was extensive, a fitting combination of Indian and English dishes. The dinner kicked off with a salad and soup, moving on to a main course of Lancashire hotpot and betki, ending with the traditional English treacle tart.
The evenings entertainment consisted of various western classical pieces performed by the Calcutta School of Music while the diners ate and dance routines by girls now in the care of SEED. The girls performed several routines, and their Dhoom 2 act was a particular hit, with the dancers leaving the stage to a standing ovation.
TIMES OF INDIA 10/04/2007
53% of Indian kids face abuse Kin form majority of perpetrators: Report
New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, a government commissioned survey has found that more than 53% of children in India are subjected to sexual abuse, but most don't report the assaults to anyone.
The survey, released on Monday, covered different forms of child abuse - physical, sexual and emotional - as well as female child neglect. It found that two out of every three children have been physically abused.
Parents and relatives, persons known to the child or in a position of trust and responsibility were mostly found to be the perpetrators of child sexual abuse in the country.
According to the women and child development ministry-sponsored report, which assumes significance in the backdrop of the Nithari killings, those aged 5-12 reported higher levels of abuse.
Releasing the survey, women and child development minister Renuka Chowdhury said: "There is a conspiracy of silence around child abuse. The ministry is working on a new law for protection of children's rights by clearly specifying offences against children and stiffening punishments."
The 13-state survey, with a sample size of 12,447 revealed that 53.22% of children reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse. Andhra, Bihar, Assam and Delhi were the worst offenders.
In 50% cases, the abusers were known to the child or were in a position of trust and responsibility and most children did not report the matter.
The survey, carried out by NGO Prayas in association with Unicef and Save the Children, found that over 50% children were subjected to one or other form of physical abuse and more boys than girls were physically abused.
The first-ever survey on child abuse in the country disclosed that nearly 65% of school children reported facing corporal punishments - beatings by teachers - mostly in government schools.
In 88.6% of the cases were physically abused in families, the parents were the perpetrators. More than 50% had been sexually abused in ways that ranged from rape to forcible kissing.
When it comes to emotional abuse, every second child was subjected to emotional assault and in 83% of the cases, parents were the abusers.
TIMES OF INDIA 20/03/2007
Bonded by a noble cause
On saturday evening, we were invited to attend a Charity Ball, in the Banquet Hall at The Park, organized by an NGO that works to help underprivileged children in the city, the Ball was attended by Maureen Forest, the director of the foundation, volunteers who work with the NGO and a large number of college students from Dublin. After the cake was cut to celebrate St Patrick's Day, the highpoint of the evening was the performance of 'Armenian pin-up boy' Shayne Hyrapiet. Shyane opened the show with love songs, but soon graduated to Bolo Ta Ra Ra and all other rocking Bollywood numbers. The Irish beauties, looking resplendent in saris couldn't contain their excitement.
On Monday morning, the NGO celebrated Foundation Day which was attended by musician Bickram Ghosh, his wife Jaya Seal Ghosh and actor Saswata Chatterjee. And on this day, the children were the stars.
THE TELEGRAPH 10/01/2007
A ray of hope in the dark alleys Night patrol team of an NGO reach out to the street children in need of a helping hand:
Calcutta, the city of joy, warmth and compassion. Calcutta, a city of poverty, hunger and crime. Though not many now it, our city changes colour from day to night.
While a group of teenagers crowd dance floors in swank discotheques at night, another section toils for survival in hazardous conditions in the city slums.
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, teams from Hope Kolkata Foundation, an NGO, step out in ambulances when the city shuts down for the day to scout for street children in need of help. DAY 1
It was a Friday. The patrol started from Rabindra Sadan with a team of three members of the NGO.
The first stop was 1A, Sandal Street. We were searching for 5 year old Gudiya, Geeta Venkadakrishnan, Director of the Foundation, had learned from a source that though Gudiya's family wanted t sent her to school, they did not know whom to approach.
It took 20 minutes to trace her house. The girl lives with her maternal grandmother and aunt. Home for them is a dingy and shabby room with no ventilation.
Mou Sen Gupta, a member and night patrol coordinator took down the details of the child. The counselors suggested a number of schools in the locality
where Gudiya could be admitted. They gave the women the NGO's phone numbers and told them to call in case any problem arises.
News had come in recently that a woman was engaging 13 minors in child labour. The teams next mission was to trace the hideout in the slums of Khanna, in north Calcutta. The informer, had called the NGO to narrate the condition of one of the children. 7 year old Bhuto
had sores all over his body. He scourged for scraps of iron on the roadside.
A work through the slum for more than hour proved futile. Nobody new the whereabouts of the little boy. It was decided that the team would return later for a follow-up. DAY 2
One week later, on wednesday, the patrol set out for Sudder Street. The team spotted two street children fighting. While Chinku and Nazim fought, Palan stood watching.
Hope members asked the boys to lead them to their families. Perhaps an on-the-spot counseling of the grownups could change the children's lives for the better.
Hope members admitted that though against the law, the children could not be stopped from working. "Our first goal will be to persuade the parents to send the children to a night school,"
said Madhabi Bhattacharya, one of the coordinators.
The ambulance then headed towards Sealdah, one of the main areas that the night patrol team covers. "We get many cases of child labour and substance abuse amongst the kids,"
said Bhattacharya. However, no significant incidence came to the team's notice that night. DAY 3
The next wednesday,
we went to Rajabazar and Beleghata. The slums in Rajabazar portrayed a grim picture. Around 15 to 20 people stay in each of the tiny huts.
From Rajabazar the team went to Sealdah, where it spotted a group of men using drugs. Not all of them were adults. Among them was a 12 year old boy, struggling to inhale the smoke.
A boy came running towards the ambulance, "Please help me quit this addiction, I am in a very bad state,"
sobbed the 19 year old. A resident of Sodepur, Santu Das use to work in his father's hotel. 3 years back he took to drugs. Soon he couldn't work. The counselors talked to him and gave him the address of Hope's Rehabilitation Centre.
Would Shantu, Gudiya and Palan succeed in breaking away from the vicious cycle of poverty and addiction? Perhaps, some day they will. All you need to do is lend a helping hand if you come across needy children like them. There's always hope.
TIMES OF INDIA 04/01/2007
Man kills self, kids left in the lurch Kolkata: While the city was celebrating the new year; life took a tragic turn for two village kids who had come to the city with their father 16 days ago. The father was found hanging inside the toilet of an abandoned house on Sadananda Road.
"Ami ashchhi,"
was all that Chandra Ghosh told while leaving his two sons on the street. It was little after midnight. Ghosh also stuffed some money in the hands of the elder son (10). While he failed to show up even after a few hours, the panic stricken boy woke up his younger brother (7) and set off in the search of their father.
Some party hoppers on their way back home found the bewildered duo wandering on Pratapaditya Road. They were then handed over the police. In the morning, the police found the father dead, hanging from the toilet. The boys were handed over to Hope Kolkata Foundation, an NGO, Ghosh a resident of Sealdah in Murshidabad fled to the city after assaulting his wife.
After the cake was cut to celebrate St Patrick's Day, the highpoint of the evening was the performance of 'Armenian pin-up boy' Shayne Hyrapiet. Shyane opened the show with love songs, but soon graduated to Bolo Ta Ra Ra and all other rocking Bollywood numbers. The Irish beauties, looking resplendent in saris couldn't contain their excitement.