Annual Report 2016 Your help makes a difference
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LittleBigHelp provided more than
97,000 meals
to the children at our projects
In 2016...
LittleBigHelp started
4 new projects
in slum communities in Kolkata: 3 Community Centres and a Beautician Training Centre 2
LittleBigHelp ensured daily education for
451 children
LittleBigHelp ensured a health check for
396 children and adults 3
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Table of Content Message from the Founder
6-7
Message from the Programme Director
8-9
Who We Are and What We Do
10-11
Boys’ Home
12-15
Girls’ Home
16-19
Learning Centre for Tribal Children
20-21
Community Centres
22-23
Shalimar School
24-25
Skills Development Projects
26-27
Centre for Special Education
28-31
Annual Charity Gala at Copenhagen Marriott Hotel
32-33
Thanks to Donors and Sponsors at the Charity Gala in Cph
34-37
Thank You to All Donors and Corporate Partners in 2016
38-39
Foundations and Network Collaborations Financial Summary Contact Us
40 41-44 45
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Dear Friend of LittleBigHelp When we look back on all the amazing development that happened in 2016 we are filled with enormous gratitude. For it is only because of the great generosity of private individuals, members, foundations, corporate partners, businesses, the board and numerous volunteers that it has been possible to continue to support 500 vulnerable children and women every day and to support the livelihood of many families through the 70 jobs created in LittleBigHelp. The local team’s knowledge, cultural understanding and passion have been essential for LittleBigHelp’s achievements and I am so grateful to each of them. An important development this year has been to move out of our Open Shelter project and move directly into 3 different slum areas in order to reach out to even more children and 6
(1) http://unicef.in/Story/1122/Education
women, with the greatest possible effect. At our three new Community Centres in Kolkata's slums, our team works with raising awareness and promoting children's rights. More than 90 out-of-school children from the slums now attend our school preparation course and receive a hot meal on a daily basis. Social and academic support to school going children is another important initiative to ensure that the children stay in school and are not used as labour or are married off as children. With statistics stating that 40 % of all children in India drop out of school before reaching class 8,1) our aim through this initiative is to keep children away from the streets and instead guiding and supporting them on the path to a brighter future through education.
Young women are now being empowered socially and financially with beautician skills at our newly opened project located in one of the slums where we have our community centre. These women all come from extremely low income families and are thrilled with the opportunity to learn and to help support their families. By helping the women discover their worth, talent and strength, and building their confidence we aim to fight the inequality and discrimination that too many women in India still face. India is considered the 4th most dangerous country to be a woman with an estimated 50 million cases of female infanticide or foeticide over the last 3 decades. And even a girl child who gets to live, risks child marriage and trafficking. 2)
1 October we held our 7th Charity Gala together with our main sponsor Copenhagen Marriott Hotel. It was an unforgettable evening, where we raised an amount that we had not dared dream of and which now has been sent off to the 6 projects we fundraised for. As our work in India is growing, there is an even greater need for support. In 2017 we will therefore have an increased focus on fundraising through events and corporate partnerships in order to continue our important work in India. LittleBigHelp can help ensure a brighter future for children and women thanks to your invaluable support to our projects and for that we would like to say thank you! With love and gratitude Lisbeth Johansen. Founder, LittleBigHelp
(2) http://www.theneweconomy.com/insight/10-of-the-most-dangerous-countries-to-be-a-woman
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Message from the Programme Director 2016 has been an important year for LittleBigHelp with many accomplishments to celebrate. It was an honor to witness when LittleBigHelp India Trust received an approval for Foreign Contribution Regulation Act from the External Affairs Department, Government of India. This accomplishment means that LittleBigHelp India Trust can directly receive foreign funds now. All our projects are therefore being shifted to a registration under LittleBigHelp India Trust from Bikash, who has been a faithful partner over many years, and an organization, which we will continue to collaborate with through out the coming years. 8
This year we provided emphasis on developing project specific strategic plans for assessing, with greater value, the results of our work, which in turn will be a continuous guide in all our projects for the next few years. The project specific strategic plans delevoped in clear templates are crucial in ensuring a unified understanding of the development objectivies throughout the entire organisation, from management level to implementation level and from the entire India team to the Denmark team. This year our team has constantly been developing innovative initiatives with effective and qualitative support
to the children as well as the women of the society. Conisdering our strengths and priorities we are now focusing on securing child protection, education and skill development for women. Through these three basic interventions LittleBigHelp directly supports 500 vulnerable women and children every single day towards a brighter future. Thanks to our transparent and qualitative interventions we have developed a trust worthy relationship with the local governance and also with likeminded organisations in the region. Through our regular implementation we focus on demontrating good practices in
the local communities in order to develop child friendly environments. Leadership opportunities exist at all levels of our learning organisation. We focus on strenghtening our team members by helping them discover their talents, giving them the space to practice, and grow. It is my pleasure to work for the marginalised in our society, and I am so grateful to our entire team, all individual donors and agencies for their continued and enormous support to LittleBigHelp. We could not do it without them. Warm greetings from Debasish Guha 9
Who We Are and What We Do LittleBigHelp works to create better opportunities for vulnerable children and women in West Bengal, India - each and every day. We work to secure basic child rights such as education and protection, along with women’s empowerment through skill development. We cannot help everybody, but our belief is that everybody can help some – and we do it! Each day in 2016, we helped more than 500 vulnerable children and women to a better every-day life and brighter future by working towards empowering them to make their own choices in life. 10
LittleBigHelp was established and registered as an NGO in Denmark in 2010 by Founder Lisbeth Johansen, who gave up her career as International Sales Director to pursue her dream of creating an NGO in India. In 2012, LittleBigHelp was registered in India and is operating as LittleBigHelp India Trust. LittleBigHelp raises funds predominantly in Denmark, and increasingly in India, which are spent on our projects in Kolkata that we design, manage and monitor.
Vision:
We cannot help everybody - but we can help some. And we do it!
Mission:
Working with complete honesty and transparency is essential in all our work. We work to keep administration costs at a minimum and thus rely on voluntary help and assistance from friends, family and our network who all wish to help us make a difference for the vulnerable children and women. Throughout 2016, Founder Lisbeth Johansen and Programme Director Debasish Guha have ensured the overall management of LittleBigHelp in both Denmark and India.
We change your little help into a big help for people in need.
Debasish Guha manages the projects and the team of 70 local team members in India on a daily basis with the assistance of local Project Managers. Programme Manager Rebekka Madsen and Fundraising and Events Manager Rikke Schrøder work between Denmark and India. 11
Boys’ Home In January 2014 we opened a longterm home for 35 former street connected boys. In our Home, the boys can start a new life away from the street with care, comfort, nutrition, education - and a place to call 'home' until they reach 18 years of age. We enroll them in the local school to secure them education and we structure their everyday life at the home with sports, music, drawing, meditation, playing games and other recreational activities. Our staff and skilled social workers also provide the boys with ongoing guidance and counseling about challenges faced in life and the special challenges these boys face throughout their life and how to cope with them. 12
A big thanks to all of you, the wonderful family of LittleBigHelp; It’s been a pleasure to meet you and we are grateful to have the chance to meet the children and to see your impressive work. This is a place for love, dreams and joy Kristine, Valentina & Andrei
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A total of 23 different field trips, recreational tours and out of house events were planned for the boys
In 2016...
A total of 33 boys
were living in Boys’ Home at the end of the year
42,410 meals
have been served throughout the year
All boys
are in enrolled in different extracurricular activities such as music, computer, gymnastics, football, drawing and creativity
Girls’ Home In October 2014, we opened a long-term home for 25 street connected and other vulnerable girls. In our Home, the girls have a chance to start a new life in a safe environment filled with care, comfort, nutrition and education – a place to call ‘home’ until they reach 18 years of age. We enrol them in local schools to secure them education and we structure their everyday life at the home with sports, music, drawing, meditation, play and other recreational activities with the purpose of mental, physical and social development. Our team at the Girls’ Home also provide the girls with on-going guidance and counselling about challenges faced in life and how 16
best to cope with them. It is especially important to offer help to girls in India, as they are extra vulnerable, even more than boys. Child marriage is not uncommon, and they risk being trafficked, raped or abused.
I share my wow! Experience with LittleBigHelp, wellmaintained, neat and clean and disciplined children. Keep it up - Tulsi Sinha Roy, Child Welfare Committee Kolkata
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4 new girls
moved into Girls’ Home and a total of 17 girls were therefore living in Girls’ Home at the end of the year
In 2016...
A total of 15 different field trips, recreational tours and out of house events were planned for the girls
All girls are
enrolled in different extracurricular activities such as music, dance, computer, karate, drawing and creativity
20,676 meals
have been served throughout the year
Learning Centre for Tribal Children In January 2014 we opened the Learning Centre for Tribal Children. The centre supports 80 youth coming from low-income families living in tribal villages in Bankura, West Bengal. The aim of the Centre is to give quality English training along with basic computer skills to less privileged tribal youth and promote and assist with education initiatives at the household as well as community level. Through the project we want to empower these youth with the skills that will both 20
increase their confidence and better equip them for their future job or further studies. 

 Through the project we hope to develop a group of students who can become agents of change and develop awareness among the community regarding the importance of education and literacy. 

In 2016...
80 students were provided with English and computer training 100% of the students passed the English course and the computer course 32 home visits were conducted to ensure continued support of parents towards their children’s education 2 career group counselling sessions and 2 exposure visits were arranged for the trainees to expand their knowledge about future possibilities regarding jobs and education.
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Community Centres In 2016 we opened 3 Community Centres in the slums of Ramkrishnapur, Santragatchi and Dumdum, where almost 100 children attend a school preparation course. After 6 - 12 months we enrol them in local schools. Hereafter we continue to offer social and academic support through tutoring and recreational activities for these school-going children. There are more than 11 million street-connected children in India, and it is estimated that 120,000 street children are in Kolkata where LittleBigHelp works. Through our work we address some of the underlying reasons for these statistics. Despite that primary education is compulsory and free in India, many children never attend school and many drop out after only a few years. 40 % drop out of school before reaching class 8. Without support and boundaries at home, 22
many of these children turn to the streets. On the streets the children are vulnerable and some find acceptance and ‘protection’ in gangs, some earn a little money, and others become addicted to glue. The longer the children have been involved in life on the street and in an addiction, the harder it becomes to help them out of that environment. Lack of education perpetuates the cycle of poverty and their chances of a brighter future. Our goal is therefore to work with both the local communities as well as the vulnerable children to promote a sustainable development. We will work to prevent even more children from becoming street children and we offer vulnerable children and families support, awareness, health care and education at our LittleBigHelp Community Centres with the goal of improving the entire family's living conditions.
In 2016...
We served 11,456 meals to the children at our Community Centres We provided a school preparation course for 112 children from the slums We assisted parents in the local slum communities, in enrolling 66 children in government schools to start or continue their education We ensured a health check for more than 346 children and adults through health camps and general doctor’s visits We conducted 32 community meetings in the slum communities to address child rights and child protection issues.
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Shalimar Pre and Primary School Shalimar School was opened in 2010, in the slum area of Shalimar, Howrah. Illiteracy in the local community is widespread and the opportunity for children to attend school and study for an education is very rare. The children of Shalimar come from impoverished families where the girls are encouraged to marry at a very early age and the boys are sent to work. The majority of these children never learn to read, write, or do simple arithmetic. All 100 boys and girls from the Shalimar School are provided with lunch every day from our 24
school kitchen where local women prepare the food. We also work with the local community and the children’s parents, educating them and informing them about the importance of sending their children to school every day instead of making them work. Through awareness campaigns and community development activities we ensure the participation of the local community, which is important to ensure a long term and sustainable development of the local community and thereby the future of the children.
In 2016...
22,495 lunch meals were served to the students in Shalimar School 1,054 educational materials were distributed 701 home visits were conducted to ensure continued support of parents towards their children’s education 15 students from Shalimar School were enrolled in Government Schools to continue their education in class V
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Skills Development Projects At our 3 Skills Development Projects marginalised women are empowered financially and socially. Through the projects, 42 women are enrolled in a skills training project with a focus on beautician training, jewellery making or tailoring, to equip them with the skills to start an income generating activity. 26
When a woman earns an income the entire family benefits and LittleBigHelp therefore has an increased focus on supporting women. At the projects the women also learn about their rights and receive support and counselling as many of the women are oppressed and experience abuse.
In 2016...
12 trainees completed a one-year Beautician Training course in Bankura and are now all earning money: 4 started their own business, 3 have been employed, and 5 are selfemployed 9 trainees completed a one-year tailoring and jewellery-making course in Kolkata and 8 are earning money through their new skills 12 women started a one-year Beautician Training course in Kolkata. Half were married while still minors, and as a result many of the trainees have only basic education.
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Centre for Special Education Since October 2013, LittleBigHelp has been supporting the Centre for Special Education – a school for 119 children and adolescents with special needs who would otherwise not be able to attend school or receive care. The Centre also provides a home for 15 of the older students of the school and currently 22 local team members are working on the project. The students come from impoverished tribal villages around Bankura, which is a town situated a few hours outside of Kolkata. Many of these children suffer from neglect, malnutrition, the
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prevalence of tribal superstition, ignorance and lack of awareness among the families and community members about special needs and the rights of children with special needs and challenges. Consequently they are marginalized and excluded from their community. The Centre works to provide ‘comprehensive rehabilitation programmes’ for these children to improve their quality of life and accelerate the process of mainstreaming them into the society.
The Centre therefore also offers vocational training and life skills education so that the students are given the right to choose what they want to do, based on their strengths and needs.
We strongly feel that the children with special needs have the need and right to decent work and to enjoy freedom, equity, social security and human dignity – just like any other child should.
They have unique differences and abilities and they have the right to the same educational, health, nutrition, protection and care opportunities. Some may require special support services, assisting devices or job modifications but these are essential investments compared to a lifetime of productivity and contribution.
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12 out of 18 children have achieved independent walking or walking with minimum help
In 2016...
35 out of 60 children have achieved independent toileting
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38 out of 50 children
have learnt to eat independently
15 out of 20 children
have learnt to do multiplication and division with double-digit numbers
25 out of 35 children
have learnt to do one vocational skill perfectly
Contact Us If you wish to support our work we receive all donations with gratitude: Jutlander Bank, Store Torv 1 9500 Hobro, Denmark
Address in Denmark: Ahornsgade 1, kld. th., 2200 København N
Registration number: 9337 Account number: 0001502301 IBAN: DK9293370001502301 SWIFT: SHOBDK21
Address in India: 3E, Camac Court, 25B Camac Street, Kolkata-700016 CVR-Number/Registration Number in Denmark: 33234694 Trust Registration Number in India: IV-056162012 and 80G Tax Exemption
For Indian currency donations: Account Name: LittleBigHelp India Trust. Account No. 914010034801160 Bank: Axis Bank Ltd Branch: Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata IFSC Code: UTIB0000411 Account type: Savings Please visit our website www. littlebighelp.com for more information on how to support us.
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Graphic design and layout donated by MYMIND
Email: info@littlebighelp.com Phone Denmark: +45 24 8 558 58 Phone India: +91 84 20 04 76 09 Facebook: Facebook.com/ LittleBigHelp