Kolkata Gives. Kolkata’s unique philanthropy movement
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The Kolkata Gives NGO is based around a simple idea. 2
Willing donors often do not know of credible NGOs. Credible NGOs often do not know prospective donors. At Kolkata Gives, we connect the two. Simple.
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This is how we connect the haves and the havenots‌ 6
1 We champion the cause of philanthropy, generosity and giving through print and social media 2 We organize an annual event that brings donors and NGOs under a common roof 3 We showcase the work of deserving NGOs across diverse media and events 4 We assist deserving NGOs in climbing to the next level through the power of networking, management insights and fund raising 5 We conduct workshops and programmes that enhance NGO capability 6 We play the role of ambassadors for the shortlisted NGOs and the causes they represent
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The site where Tiljala Shed works near the Tiljala rail tracks; Tiljala Shed is one of the NGOs supported by Kolkata Gives
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These are the causes that we back‌
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Causes that are largely underaddressed Causes that need support and evangelism Causes that will get increasingly relevant
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There are a number of reasons why Kolkata Gives is needed...
HEALTH CARE
ANIMAL WELFARE
7000+ Indians die of hunger every year
65000 population of stray dogs in Kolkata
11.6 number of children (in lac) who die every year within one year of their birth due to lack of immunisation 90 percent of 230,000 chronic kidney failure patients die within months in India because of poor treatment 50 percent of the rural population have no access to healthcare 60 percent of newly diagnosed leprosy cases in the world are from India
HYGIENE EDUCATION
CHILD TRAFFICKING
65 percent is India’s female literacy rate
23 percent of the total number of girls trafficked in India are from West Bengal
2.3 number (in million) of primary age Indian children are not in school 53 percent of Indian girls in the age group of five to ninety years are illiterate 287 number of illiterate adults (in million) in India, the largest in the world 58.3 percent of children enrolled in class V (government schools across rural India) cannot read a class II text 33.72 percent dropout rate for the girl child in primary schools
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3.5 percent of people living with HIV/aids are children (less than 15-years-old)
DISABILITY 35 percent of all people living with disabilities are children 50 number of Indians (in million) who are mentally challenged 34 percent of India’s disabled population work for a living 12 (million) Indian children with disabilities
ENVIRONMENT 1.1 million litres of raw sewage are disposed into the Ganga every minute
111 million (approximately) children who work as labourers 36 per thousand children (between 5 – 14) in West Bengal are engaged in physical labour 11.8 percent of children in India are engaged in some form of child labour
LIVELIHOOD TRAINING 52 percent of the tribal population lives below the poverty line 30.9 percent of India’s rural population lives below the poverty line
GENDER RIGHTS 62 percent of transgender individuals do not have a stable source of income 3 the number of women in prostitution in India (in million) 35 percent of women in prostitution enter the trade before 18
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So how do we work?
Through a fullfledged back-office Through an analysis of NGO credentials Through speaking to peers on trends Through engagement with beneficiary communities Through advocacy with global and Indian funding agencies Through networking with prospective donors Through highlighting causes to the media Through working in line with government priroities
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This is what we have to show for our presence Kolkata Gives is Kolkata’s most respected networking NGO
Kolkata Gives conducted two networking events in the last two years. Generated aggregate footfalls of 3000 and networked 42 NGOs resulting in aggregate funding commitments in excess of Rs 30 million Currently, approximately 50 donors and 56 NGOs are provided a platform to connect with each other
Kolkata Gives receiving the ET Bengal Award from West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra 16
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Kolkata Gives pioneered the concept of a dedicated philanthropy tabloid for the first time in India. The tabloid was widely praised for enhancing visibility for deserving NGOs
bringing donors and ngos together
KolKata | JaNUaRY – MaRch 2014
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kolkatagives father francis laborde came to india in 1965 but his true journey began around 1974 when he built a housing colony christened bhratri prem nagar for migrant labourers in howrah. a few weeks into being a pastor at nirmala mata maria girja on andul road, he was put in charge of eight physically challenged kids and felt an overwhelming urge to connect and protect them from the ravages of the world. With help from france, germany, switzerland, italy and Canada, a non-profit organisation, howrah south point (hsp) was born in 1976.
bringing donors and ngos together
KolKata | aPRIl – JUNE 2014 `0/-
HowraH SoutH Point
dropout transforms destinies
When the teacher of a hoWrah school called
a 13-year-old Mamoon by name sometime in the Eighties, the boy rose from his bench expecting to hear praise for a lesson well done. Instead, what he heard was the opposite: “Mamoon, please don’t come to school from tomorrow because your parents have not been able to pay your fees!”... (Read the full story on page 4)
messiah of Kidderpore
rituparna sengupta in a red light area on her birthday?
‘oh, not Kidderpore!’ used 7 november 2013 Was a to be a tired response a slightly different few decades ago when people mentioned the name of this river-flanked region in the Western part of the city. A neighbourhood marked by lawlessness, gang wars, unemployment, petty crime, drugs, prostitution and illicit trade. Then something interesting happened... (Read the full story on page 6)
birthday for Rituparna Sengupta, the heartthrob of Tollywood. The actress had her usual well-wishers – relatives, friends, fans, associates and peers – but more than this predictable gathering, she had some special well-wishers. The children of prostituted women. Because on this birthday... (Read the full story on page 8)
This inaugural copy of the Kolkata Gives tabloid has been financially supported by NK Realtors and Srijan Realty Pvt. Ltd. NK Realtors is one of the largest integrated real estate service providers in India, present in Kolkata, Howrah, Durgapur, Asansol, Burdwan, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati. Srijan Realty Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest-growing real estate companies (present in Kolkata, Chennai, Coimbatore and Asansol).
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KolKata | July – September 2014 `0/-
kolkatagives kolkatagives The man with the intense gaze that you see on this page is the man most Kolkatans do not know of. Vinayak Lohani.
‘Parent’ to more than 900 once-vulnerable children. Managing the largest free residential educational facility in Kolkata. Taking care of the social and educational requirements of his children - for life.
nearly four decades later, his ngo is one of the most respected across india for addressing child disabilities. and father laborde, well, enjoys the respect of being a legend in his lifetime.
One of Kolkata’s largest NGOs dedicated to the well-being of disabled children is finally recognised with the prestigious President’s Award for outstanding service. (Read full story on page 19)
bringing donors and Ngos together
No wonder his NGO is called Parivaar.
FATHER TERESA
Vinayak Lohani. The man gave up a job at Infosys and then an IIM placement. Only to start a modest tuition class for poor children. Now possibly grown into Eastern India’s largest free residential school for once-poor children (Read full story on page 4) ruby hembrom reJeCted a Job at ibm to WorK on adivasi Culture
Why Would a young lady
doing well at her job resign to work on something as undocumented as adivasi culture? Precisely because it is undocumented. Unarchived. Uncelebrated. Read of the idealism of Ruby Hembrom in ensuring that the story of adivasi culture is not forgotten in the middle of a culture epidemic... (Read the full story on page 6)
india’s loWest-Cost dialysis treatment provider is in KolKata
dr. Joydeepa darlong the doCtor Who treats leprosy in purulia
Kidney failure might mean ‘oh leprosy!’ is a term that the kiss of death of most rural Indians. But not if you have turned to Kolkata Swasthya Sankalpa for help. This Kolkata-based NGO runs possibly India’s lowest dialysis treatment facility, providing care and cure at a cost that makes it possible for villagers to travel long distances in hope... (Read the full story on page 10)
people associate with horror. The doctor who has escaped the comforts of Kolkata to dedicate her life to leprosy patients is Dr Joydeepa Darlong. Working 12 hours a day, six days a week in Purulia with no vacation having been taken for years – for making a difference in the lives of thousands... (Read the full story on page 15)
This second edition of the Kolkata Gives tabloid has been financially supported by The Emami Group. The Emami Group is one of the largest industrial groups of Eastern India with business interests across personal care, paper, realty, biotech, art, retail, healthcare, cement and writing instrument categories.
Rajib HaldaR talks about what makes CINI one of the most respected NGOs in Kolkata
sTreeT chilDreN geT a home aND school for free!
how The amaziNg ProjecT
rainbow spearheaded by sister cyril at loreto sealdah achieved what no school dared. read the story of how she resolved to take as many children off the streets into the school… (read the full story on page 8)
The DocTor who Does 800 free caTaracT oPeraTioNs a year
The remarkable sTory of
Dr rajani saraf and what inspires her to give of herself. she conducts a cataract operation every ten minutes. you apologise when you ask her for an hour of her time for an interview... (read the full story on page 13)
“sorry, ms khullar, we woN’T be able To Take your soN iN our school”
NoNi khullar, PriNciPal,
akshar, explains how that one line helped kickstart an educational movement for the specially-abled. it is probably the only school in the country where around… (read the full story on page 20)
Manyavar is among India’s most prominent ethnic men’s wear brands. Producing a range of regal sherwanis, elegant kurtas and Indo-Western wear. With a capacity to produce over two million units of apparel per annum (highest for the category in the world). Now planning to expand from 350 to 600 global Exclusive Brand Outlets by 2015-16.
Kolkata Gives initiated the unique concept of philanthrotourism by inviting prominent Kolkata citizens on a tour of NGO premises to interface directlywith beneficiaries. Kolkata Gives visited OFFER (focusing on AIDS-affected children) and Samaritan Help Mission (focusing on education for under-privileged Howrah children). Kolkata Gives conducted capacity-building workshops. Kolkata Gives addressed the branding and training needs of 42 NGOs that strengthened their crowdfunding capability in the last two years. 19
Our Supporters Our Trustees
Anant Nevatia
Mahesh Pasari
Mukti Gupta
Chittaranjan Choudhury
Mudar Patherya
Pawan Agarwal
Shyam Sundar Agarwal
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Jyoti Vardhan Sonthalia
Mudit Bagla
Saurav Gupta
Arun Sharma ASP Private Limited
Chandra Sekhar Jalan Om Besco Rail Products Limited
Debanjan Mondal Fox & Mondal Ltd
Gaurav Agarwala Neora Hydro
Ghanshyam Sarda Sarda Group
H P Budhia Patton International
J P Agarwal Agarwal & Agarwal
Jayanta Chatterjee NNM Impex
Mayank Jalan Keventer Agro
Pavan Poddar Poddar Udyog
Piyush Bhagat Space Group
Pradip Chopra iLEAD
Pradip Sureka Sureka Group
R G Bansal BMW Industries
R S Agarwal Emami Group
R S Goenka Emami Group
Rahul Kyal Vinayak Group
Rahul Saraf Forum Projects
Rajiv Mundhra Simplex Infrastructure
Raju Bharat Kenilworth Hotels
Raju Khandelwal Dhanwantary
Ram Ray Response
Ravi Modi Manyavar
Ravindra Chamaria Infinity Group
Rishab Bafna Cherrytree Events
Ruchika Gupta Sanmarg
Sajan Bansal Skipper
Sanjay Agarwal Century Plyboards
Sanjay Chamria Magma Fincorp
Sanjay Jain Siddha Group
Santosh Jain Arissan Power Ltd
Siddarth Pasari Primarc
Utsav Parekh Smifs Capital
Vinod Dugar RDB Group
Viresh Shah Manav Jyot
V. K. Bhandari Supertron
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Our annual philanthropy event, 2015
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MEDIA REVIEW
Givers and takers bond in philanthropy festival KOLKATA GIVES 2015 BRINGS TOGETHER 30 NGOS AND SEVERAL DONORS
As it turned out, Kolkata Gives 2015 at the Park Plaza hotel on Sunday was a festival of a different kind - philanthropy. The concept of this event was born in a frustrating reality as an increasing number of the well-to-do, who desired to donate, often struggled to find credible NGOs. On the other hand, credible NGOs that required critical funding were unable to find willing or long-term donors. It was with the objective to bring both constituencies - donors and NGOs - face to face that Kolkata Gives was launched in 2013. The second edition of this unique philanthropic event on Sunday drew twice the footfalls of its predecessor and considerably larger donation commitments for the benefit of the 30 selected NGOs on show. There was Rahul Saraf of Forum Projects who singled out child trafficking as one of the most slipped-under-the-carpet social challenges.
Kolkata Gives 2015, organised at Park Plaza in association with The Telegraph, on Sunday
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he best commentary about Kolkata Gives 2015, an unusual networking event between donors on the one hand and NGOs on the other, came from a visitor. “For 364 days,” she said, “Calcutta’s rich and famous compete to make more money than each other and then there comes this one day when they compete again - in giving a part of their net worth away.”
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“I zeroed in on Hamari Muskan that works with the children of prostituted women for a deliberate reason,” said Saraf. “India suffers possibly the highest incidence of child trafficking among high-population countries. Within India, Bengal has the longest international border among all states, making it most vulnerable. Much of this trafficking is centred around south Bengal on account of its proximity to Calcutta and because the
city provides connectivity to other parts of India. The Sealdah hinterland is particularly vulnerable on account of its rail linkage. In view of this, I would consider any NGO engaged in counter-trafficking in or around Sealdah to be of critical importance. I like Hamari Muskan’s model of using supplementary education as an effective counter-trafficking initiative and, in view of this, ‘adopted’ the NGO at the Kolkata Gives for all its requirement of cash, music and theatre-based interventions across the long-term.” More than personally committing funds, the industrialists also did what they are best at - networking with the objective to facilitate deals that displace the status quo. The Purulia-based Leprosy Mission is one of India’s largest leprosy treatment centres. After examining the credentials, a prominent Calcutta businessman committed sizeable growth capital, which represents a large increase over the Mission’s modest capital outlay. “For people like us,” the businessman said, “the commitment warrants calling three industrialists and asking them, in turn, to find 100 donors willing to commitRs 30,000 per operation. This is really simple and should take just three days, which can potentially enhance the throughput of patients being treated in Leprosy
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MEDIA REVIEW Mission by 50 per cent overnight, benefiting thousands of the poorest across rural Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.” There were unique experiences as well. Of 22-year-old cerebral palsy patient Sumit Agarwal who insisted on walking to each of the 30 stalls even after having to be supported by two individuals, before selecting to donate to Civilian Welfare Foundation (NGO dedicated to the welfare of the disabled); there was Manojbhai (of social organisation Gujarat Club) who volunteered to conduct cataract operations at premier Calcutta hospitals free for any patient referred by any of the 30 NGOs; there was a weekly columnist of one of India’s largest business dailies who singled out the ragpicker-focused Tiljala Society for Human and Educational Development to comprehend the financial dynamics of waste segregation; there was the Cognizant executive visiting the operating model of various NGOs to explore relevant fits with his company’s support programme; there was theatre personality Sumit Roy (who represented the NGO Association for Social and Environmental Development) who proposed a brand-building workshop for other NGOs; there was an industrialist who adopted NGO Chhaya (ani-
mal welfare) passionately seeking probable donors, having promised to mobilise at least Rs 50 lakh for new kennels; there was the CEO of a prominent organisation who interfaced with transgenders (Amitie Trust) for probably the first time in his life and walked away after having made a donation with the words that “the experience of even speaking with them has been an education”.
SAMARITAN GIFTS POOR KIDS WHAT HE DIDN’T GET
The climax of the day was something that most NGOs and visitors missed because it happened with minimal fuss. Sutirtha Bhattacharya, newly-appointed chairman of Coal India Limited, the largest single CSR spender in the country with an annual disbursement of around Rs 600 crore, spent an hour at the Kolkata Gives event with his wife, engaging incognito with a number of NGOs. His one statement could perhaps hold out an even bigger hope than all the cash mobilised during this nine-hour event: “The time has perhaps come for an agency like Tata Institute of Social Sciences to strengthen the governance delivery of these NGOs so that it becomes easier for process-driven organisations like Coal India to support their excellent work and strengthen the virtuous cycle.”
Published in The Telegraph. Monday, January 12, 2015
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School dropout’s light of learning
Mamoon Akhtar (right) with Emami co-founder RS Goenka during a visit to his school in Tikiapara. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya
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amoon Akhtar was forced to drop out of school in Class VII because his parents couldn’t afford his tuition fees. Three decades later, the 43-year-old from Howrah is the driving force behind a school in Tikiapara with 3,000 students, most of them children of unlettered parents. Mamoon’s extraordinary journey from victim to champion of the underprivileged started the day he decided that he wouldn’t be deprived of an education just because his family couldn’t pay for his schooling. “My father was a labour contractor. Our family fell on bad times when his business collapsed and I had to leave school. But I started giving tuitions and continued studying on my own. I would sit for examinations as a
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private candidate and this continued till Class XII, beyond which I couldn’t progress because my father died and our financial condition got worse,” Mamoon recalled.
children. We couldn’t have paid for an English-medium education if this school didn’t exist,” said Tara, whose husband works at a blacksmith’s shop.
Mamoon is the youngest of six siblings, including four sisters. While one of the Akhtar girls went on to get a bachelor’s degree in arts, he is the only one among the remaining siblings to study beyond Class X.
Samaritan Help Mission School is in stark contrast to its surroundings - narrow, dingy lanes lined with shanties inhabited by families for whom life is a struggle every single day. The five-storey school building on a three-cottah plot has Wi-fi enabled classrooms equipped with projectors, among other facilities.
After his father died, Mamoon took up a librarian’s job in a private school in Tikiapara, supplementing his income by giving private tuitions. Life would have gone on as usual but for what was playing at the back of his mind. Try as he might, Mamoon couldn’t get over how he was forced out of school. In 2002, Mamoon founded a school in Tikiapara with six students. “I would take in nursery-level kids and prepare them for admission to Urdu, Bengali and Hindi-medium schools the next year,” he recounted. While the initial expenditure on books and furniture was entirely Mamoon’s, help arrived as the queue of parents wanting to put their children in his school grew longer. Caring Friends, a group of philanthropists, came forward to fund the initiative and the aptly named Samaritan Help Mission School hasn’t looked back since. Homemaker Tara Khatun’s son and daughter study in the school and she couldn’t be happier for the opportunity. “I pay Rs 80 as the monthly tuition fees for my two
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“We use projectors for the benefit of some students with impaired vision. It is easier for them to see on the screen than strain their eyes trying to make out what is on a blackboard,” Mamoon said. The school currently takes in students from classes I to VIII. Younger students are admitted to the Rebecca Belilious English Institution, located around a kilometre away in an area that used to be a den of crime. The land on which the second school stands had been a garbage dump for years until Howrah City Police and the Howrah Municipal Corporation got together to create a conducive atmosphere for Mamoon to expand his initiative. “We helped them (Mamoon and his staff) build a wall, remove encroachments and start a school there. Today, many children from poor families get free education there,” police commissioner D.P. Singh said. Sources said Singh’s predecessor Ajey Ranade played the key role in
transforming the place into a site suitable for a school. After completing Senior KG at Rebecca Belilious English Institution, most children move to Samaritan Help Mission School, which has been adding a class every year. “We are affiliated to the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education. When the current batch of Class VIII students is ready for promotion, we will start Class IX,” a teacher said. Both schools run on corporate funding from companies like Chevrolet, Cognizant, Emami, Edelweiss and Tata Steel. Charity organisations like Kolkata Gives and Caring Friends continue to fund several school activities. Last Sunday, a team of industrialists and businessmen visited the two schools to see the fruition of Mamoon’s dream. R.S. Goenka, one of the founders of the Emami Group, said: “I come here because the school and the kids here inspire me. I also get to see how people are benefiting from our funding.” The Emami Group has financed toilets and projectors on the main campus while Rebecca Belilious English Institution has an AstroTurf funded by car manufacturer Chevrolet. Sport is integral to Mamoon’s vision of a school. Samaritan Help Mission School recently acquired a table tennis board and two of its students, Mohammad Sharik and
Sonu Rajbhar, got the opportunity to visit Manchester United Club in Old Trafford earlier this month. “A big company sponsored the trip. The duo were selected from among kids from underprivileged families who have excelled in football,” a teacher said. Sharik is in Class IV and Sonu is a student of Class V. For Mamoon, it’s been a tough but satisfying ride since the days when a group of college girls he had enlisted would go around Tikiapara trying to convince people to send their children to school. “Many people suggested that I turn my school into a Bengali, Hindi or Urdu-medium institute, but I insisted on an English-medium school. Knowing English is very important in the current scenario,” the 43-year-old said. Scores of parents are grateful that Mamoon stuck to his plan. Sending their children to any other Englishmedium school in the area would have been 10 times more expensive. Mamoon’s three daughters - sevenyear-old Atifa Fatema, six-year-old Adifa Fatema and four-year-old Batul Fatema - also study at Samaritan Help Mission School. When wife Shabana readies the three girls for class every morning, he can’t help but wonder what life might have been if he weren’t asked to leave school in Class VII.
Published in The Telegraph. Wednesday, September 30, 2015
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Kolkata Gives provides material support following natural calamities. Kolkata Gives is a facilitator and encourages that you remit directly to the beneficiary NGO. In the event that you wish to donate to Kolkata Gives to carry out its good work, you may contribute by Cheque/Demand Draft in favour of Kolkata Gives Foundation along with your donation form to the following address: KOLKATA GIVES FOUNDATION 34 Alexandra Court, 63 Chowringhee Road, Kolkata 700 020, West Bengal, India. Next to Rabindra Sadan Metro Station. www.kolkatagives.com www.facebook.com/KolkataGives • www.twitter.com/kolkatagives Contact no.: 033 4008 2981 For citizens who would like to make an Account Transfer, our Account details are provided below. Please fill out our Donation Form and email the same to kolkatagives@gmail.com Account Number : 50100081872881 Bank :
HDFC Bank
Account Branch : 469, Bhowanipore, 88, Chowringhee Road, 1st Floor, Next to P.C.Chandra Jewellers, Kolkata- 700020, West Bengal RTGS/NEFT IFSC Code :
HDFC0000469
MICR Code :
700240024
*All donations made to Kolkata Gives Foundation are exempted under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961
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