29th March 2025

A Call to transform a community

Imagine a community of 100 families, nestled near the railway line in Sardharpar, battling a relentless struggle for one of life's most basic necessities—water. These hardworking individuals, primarily odd labourers, return home after gruelling days only to face the daunting challenge of securing water for their families. The limited water supply arrives just three times a day, leaving them unable to store enough for their needs. Family members often sacrifice their work or education to stay back and collect water—a heartbreaking reality that disrupts their lives daily.

This community has reached out with a heartfelt plea: a hand pump that would provide them access to water anytime they need it. Kolkata City Mission has been privileged to provide wells in various communities, often funded by donors in memory of loved ones or as meaningful gifts. Now, we have an opportunity to bring lasting change to Srdharpar. For just $1,000, you can help install a well—a one-time solution to a long-standing problem. Your contribution will not only quench their thirst but also restore dignity and hope to these families.

Empowering Education: Building Futures at Manthano Modern School

Meanwhile, Manthano Modern School is on the cusp of transformation as it prepares for affiliation with the Board of Education. This milestone will enable rural children to take government-certified high school exams, opening doors to brighter futures. However, the process is demanding—requiring fire safety certifications, CCTV installation, high-speed internet, secure gates, and classroom upgrades on the compound wall the list is endless. Thanks to all our donors who supported us, significant progress has been made, but we still need your support to cross the finish line.

Your generosity can ensure that every child in this school has access to quality education in a safe and nurturing environment. Together, we can empower these young minds to dream big and achieve their potential.

 Join Us in Making a Difference

We are deeply grateful for your unwavering support over the years. Your contributions have enabled us to serve communities in need and transform lives. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for standing with us.

 Today, we invite you to be part of these life-changing initiatives. Whether it’s providing clean water or supporting education, your donation makes an impact that lasts generations. Let’s come together and turn hope into reality—one community at a time.

24th October 2024

Nomoshkar Friends,

Sufferings can't stop my destiny 

We’ve been on an incredible training journey in crafting tie-dye, embroidery shirts and other dress materials. The women from Kiran and Disha Tailoring Centre have embraced this initiative, gaining confidence as they create beautiful garments. A special thanks to Partners Worldwide for offering this training. The women are immensely proud of their work. One standout moment was when Dilasha posed for a photoshoot in a dupatta, which the women dyed during the training. But her life story is far from colourful.

Dilasha lost her mother, Mala, when she was 11. She passed away suddenly right before her eyes. It happened during lunch, as Mala served Dilasha her favourite prawn curry with rice, unaware it would be their last meal together. Mala felt unwell and collapsed. After the tragedy, she and her father, Debasish Das, struggled to get by. Fortunately, Debasish found a job at Kiran, which helped provide some stability for them in their humble slum hut life.

After a year of hardship, Debasish remarried, hoping to bring maternal support back into Dilasha’s life. Unfortunately, her relationship with her stepmother was strained, leading to further difficulties. Eventually, Dilasha went to live with her grandparents in a different slum location, where she began to find some stability in the middle of her struggle. 

Through determination, Dilasha completed her Class 12 exams — a dream her mother had always nurtured for her. After finishing school, she expressed a desire to attend nursing school. However, the cost was far beyond what her family could afford. Kolkata City Mission supported her education from nursery through to Class 12, and we were fortunate to secure a spot for her in nursing school. The four-year program costs approximately ₹650,000 (around $8,000). We have already raised ₹100,000 ($1,250), but we still need support to cover the remaining expenses to complete her four-year journey to reach her dream.

If you are interested in helping fund Dilasha's education, please get in touch with us. Your contribution could make a profound difference in her journey toward becoming a nurse and fulfilling her dreams. Together, we can make her life more colourful and vibrant.

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to all our sponsors who support children through Kolkata City Mission. We look forward to sharing more inspiring stories with you. There is truly nothing more fulfilling than guiding a child toward their dreams. Thank you immensely for your unwavering support; without your financial contributions and prayers, we would not have achieved the progress we are witnessing. We want to express a profound thank you from the depths of our hearts.

Update
We have made significant progress with our fundraiser for the Soymilk project. Currently, we have secured 22% of our goal through online contributions and 23% through offline donations. There are still several milestones to reach in order to meet our target. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to each of you who has generously supported this initiative. Check out this link for more information about the programme. 

9th August 2024

Nomoshkar Friends, 

The long-awaited monsoon season has finally arrived in Midnapore, West Bengal bringing much-needed relief from the heat. However, many parts of India are grappling with devastating floods and challenges accompanying heavy rainfall.

We recently held a parent-teacher meeting to address the concerning dropout rates at Manthano Modern School. Since the establishment of our building in 2015, with the generous support of our donors who also provided us with two school buses, we were able to transport children from various villages to our newly built English medium school. The joy in these communities was evident as they embraced the opportunity to send their children to a school they once only dreamed of.

Unfortunately, we noticed a decline in student enrolment, and we were uncertain how to sustain the school amid these challenges. Our initial inquiries revealed why parents were hesitant to share the reasons behind their decisions to withdraw their children. 

However, during a recent meeting, some parents were brave enough to voice their concerns. They shared that rumours about the school's uncertain future have spread throughout the villages. Many parents are particularly anxious about their children’s ability to take the Grade 10 board exams, as the school has not yet registered or affiliated with any examination board.

This is a valid concern, as registration requires significant infrastructure, which involves certain criteria like a finished building, playground, adequate washrooms, a library, a computer lab, secure compound walls, and health and safety features like fire protection and CCTV surveillance. Ever since the meeting, Beena and I have dedicated our time and energy to spend more time at the school, with the local staff and have begun the process of registering our school. Achieving registration will be a pivotal milestone for us, enabling us to maintain steady growth in student enrolment at Manthano Modern School. 
 
Registration is not merely a bureaucratic hurdle, but a transformative step that will unlock the school's potential, secure its place in the community, and ensure that the light of learning continues to shine brightly for the children of these villages. Initially, our goal was to provide primary education to lay a solid foundation for students. However, the reality is that there are no other English medium schools nearby, and parents are now requesting that we extend our offerings to at least the 10th grade.

Challenges in Running a school in a Rural area.   
The need for quality education in rural India is urgent. If we, as a charitable organization, do not step up, who will? Our school faces ongoing challenges in attracting quality teachers, as most of our educators travel over 60 kilometres from urban areas to reach us. They endure significant hardships, and their compensation does not reflect their qualifications or the obstacles they overcome daily.

How can you be part of this journey to Success? 
You can play a vital role in supporting this school. By sponsoring a child for just $30 a month, or by sponsoring a teacher for $200 a month, you can help us continue providing quality education to these well deserving children. We also invite you to contribute towards the registration of Manthano Modern  school in rural areas, ensuring that these children have a brighter future. Rest assured, your designated donations will be allocated specifically for this purpose. Together, with your support, we will cross this threshold and embark on a new era of growth and impact. If you are interested please follow this link

We are deeply grateful for your partnership. Without the support of friends like you, we could not have reached this level of success. Your encouragement and prayers mean the world to us, and we hope to continue this journey together. We invite you to have a walk through the school in the village, Please come and see the school

Thank you for believing in the power of education and for standing with us in our mission to transform lives.

Dhonnobad,
 
Shaji & Beena
Kolkata City Mission Team and 
Manthano Modern School

31st May 2024 Let’s go for a summer break!

Have you enjoyed your summer break?

Nomoshkar Dear Friends, 
 
After the summer vacation, the Manthano Modern School will be back in monsoons session! But before the summer break, Beena and I took the time to visit all our classes, to personally meet the students and hear about their summer plans. Most students didn’t have any plans, and their parents were unaware that taking a break could be beneficial for their children.
 
In class five we have four students, who aspire to complete their higher education in English medium school. We asked them if they had any plans to leave their village for a holiday. Beena and I quickly realized that many of these children have never gone out with their parents for a meal at a restaurant, let alone a vacation. They spend their entire lives in the village, from birth to death, doing the same things, meeting the same people, and eating the same meals. If you are reading this letter, please pause for a moment and think about how it would feel to be in their place.

What does it take for these kids to dream beyond their horizons?
 
Children living in rural areas are born with dreams, but without money or access to opportunities, they start to forget their dreams. Once they are stuck in the poverty mindset it becomes a challenge for them to escape it. Class five students asked us the same question, "Sir and Ma'am, where are you going for the summer holidays?" We were speechless. Since then we've been planning for these four students to give them a different summer experience. We can’t do it for all students, but we can do something for at least these four. Please wait for our next newsletter to read about our summer with class five students.

Football transforming lives of young people

Need good nutrition

A transformation is happening among the youth involved with the soccer (football) team. Young boys are leaving their old habits like drinking country-made liquor and other traditional bad habits (chewing paan, bidi smoking, gambling). While they are involved in football, they have to follow a high level of discipline to become perfect football players. It’s our joy to see this transformation taking place among these young boys.
 
We used to provide soymilk to the young footballers as they lacked good nutrition from their regular diet, which mainly consisted of rice and potato curry. Since our soy milk production came to a halt due to several difficulties in the village, they have not been getting proper nourishment. We are looking to restart this unit to produce soy milk for malnourished children and young people.
 
To restart this project, we need a separate shed to fix all our soy production units, which are currently resting in our storeroom. Building and equipping a shed for this production centre will cost us $6000. We are looking for friends who are willing to help us make this project a reality. Any help towards this project is much appreciated.

Onek dhonnobad,

Thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement throughout the years. Your support keeps the families at KCM going daily. 
 
Onek dhonnobad,
 
Shaji and Beena
On behalf of Kolkata City Mission and Team

22nd April 2024

Nomoshkar Dear Friends,

We extend warm greetings to you from the team at Kolkata City Mission and are excited to share this month's happenings with you.

We are delighted to announce the selection of two young men from the Manthano Warriors for district-level matches. Kolkata City Mission has taken the initiative to coach rural boys in football, many of whom are school dropouts with limited opportunities within their communities. Witnessing these boys receive recognition by Medinipur District sports authorities and being selected for district-level matches is a tremendous honor and gives us great joy. Bhola Soran and Shoubdeep Kisku, both hail from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and exemplify their potential within our program. Currently, we are training over 75 young men in football, providing them with opportunities, hope, and recognition. Our aim is to empower these youth from remote villages to lead purposeful lives as they hone their skills. If you would like to know more about how you can help support and play an active part in this initiative, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Manthano Modern School

Following the challenges posed by COVID-19, Manthano Modern School experienced a significant decline in attendance. This prompted reflections on the viability of continuing education in rural areas. Prior to the pandemic, our school boasted nearly 300 students till the 8th grade. However, attendance plummeted unexpectedly, adversely affecting the school's performance over the past two years. Encouragingly, we have observed progress in the current academic year, with weekly increases in enrollment bringing the total to approximately 120 students. Certain affiliation procedures must be completed to ensure the school's recognition by the Education Board and enable students to sit for their final Board exams. However, before pursuing affiliation, critical infrastructure improvements such as completing the compound wall, installing a sturdy gate, implementing CCTV surveillance, and fire hydrants, and constructing additional restroom facilities are necessary. This endeavour entails significant funding, estimated at twenty lakh rupees (approximately thirty thousand US dollars). While the task ahead is challenging, it is imperative for our students' academic advancement and access to higher education and in turn to live a life with dignity. As we strive to complete this infrastructure project by the end of this year given the logistics challenges of building a school in a remote village, we really appreciate your prayers and support in this crucial phase of Manthano Modern School.

New Product from Kiran Social Enterprises

Beena and I, along with the Kiran Social Enterprises team, are very excited to announce that Kiran Social Enterprises is introducing a reusable Cotton Sanitary Pad. This pad is designed to cater to the needs of rural and slum-dwelling women. After spending time listening to the concerns of the women from these communities through deep analysis and research we designed this product. It has been enthusiastically received by women in these communities. Unlike other pads in the Indian market, this reusable Cotton Sanitary Pad offers them a cost-effective, sustainable and eco-friendly alternative during menstruation. Their appreciation for this innovative solution underscores its importance in addressing menstrual health and hygiene needs in these vulnerable communities. We extend our gratitude to the dedicated women who provided us with valuable information, our artisans team at Kiran, and our friends who joined us during the research and design, for their commitment to creating this pad with care and sustainable design of these essential products for underserved communities. Please reply to this newsletter if you have any questions or would like to know more about this exciting new venture. 

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your friendship and your unwavering support. Your prayers, encouragement, and continued support gives us strength daily.
 
Onek dhonnobad /Thank you,

Shaji and Beena
On behalf of Kolkata City Mission and Team  

January 2024

KCM’s Review of 2023 (Click on the slides below)

November 2023

Our Life is Changed…

Monimala and Kolyani, are two young mothers from very poor tribal families. While our team was on a visit to their village for awareness programs about the importance of educating rural children these women asked if they had any small job opportunities in our school for them, so that they could earn some money to feed their children. Since we were looking for some ladies from the village area to manage our school kitchen we found they were qualified and willing to take the job. Monimala and Kolyani wanted to enrol their sons in a good school for education, but they knew that they could not afford to send them to an English Medium School for a good education.  Kolyani Said “In our community whatever the man earns seldom reaches home because they spend their earning towards drinking, then how could we feed our children or send them to a good school for education?”

Among the tribal community, country-made liquor is very common and many men are addicted to it. All their earning get lost for this drink and men are hardly responsible for raising their children. Even though their children can attend the public school because it is free, the school dropout percentage among the tribal children is always on the higher side. Many children don’t make it up to high school before they give up their schooling. Then they have nothing do do but wander in the village.  

This small job in our school for Monimala and Kolyani mean a lot to them. Their sons Arjun and Mahadeb can earn a good education and have at least one guaranteed meal per day.  They don’t have to worry about their sons in terms of their education. Monimala said “I can never think of my son Arjun attending an English School, which we could never afford, he only knows our tribal language, but I am so surprised to see him picking up English and other subjects” 

Our resources may not allow us to help a lot of people like Monimala and Kolyani, but what we do in the lives of their boys, Arjun and Mahadeb will be a lot to them. If they are able to make it through the schooling at least we could eliminate poverty from two families for the rest of their lifetime.  There are hundreds of women like Monimala and Kolyani who long to send their children to a good education, but they are helpless.  Our school, the Manthano Modern School, wants to see a transformed community through quality education and awareness of the right education for the rural community. We believe education is a way forward to eliminate poverty in our communities. 

Hopelessness to Hopefulness

Many school-drop-out young men have no hope for a future, they end up hunting birds and animals or get into small ways of theft in order to survive. While building our school many times we lost our school materials like bricks, pieces of steel, plastic pipes, electric appliances even wood pieces. Seeing this growing hopelessness we moved with football coaching among the young people. For the past years, we trained over fifty young men for football (Socker) These men are hired by local clubs and schools for football matches. These men now found of new way of earning money and dignity and being responsible for raising their families.

Many school-drop-out young men have no hope for a future, they end up hunting birds and animals or get into small ways of theft in order to survive. While building our school many times we lost our school materials like bricks, pieces of steel, plastic pipes, electric appliances even wood pieces. Seeing this growing hopelessness we moved with football coaching among the young people. For the past years, we trained over fifty young men for football (Socker) These men are hired by local clubs and schools for football matches. These men now found of new way of earning money and dignity and being responsible for raising their families.

Women Empowerment Programme

An advanced course is introduced to the women in the Disha Tailoring Center for stitching school uniforms for our growing schools.  Foreseeing this demand for new uniforms every year the ladies are planning to take over this market to make their earnings through helping the school students to get proper uniforms. We are so glad to see how useful the tailoring training is to empower poor women. They hope to make a decent earning through this advanced course.

We really want to thank each one of you for your long-standing with us. You have invested a lot with us in developing this great work in the village. Without your investment, we would never have achieved all that we are today. We are so thankful to you for all your support and prayers for us. Your donation will certainly make a difference in the lives of many needy people whom we serve. 

NOW IT IS EASY TO DONATE FROM THE UK 
If you are a resident in the United Kingdom and willing to donate have a new collecting agent, "ACTS Trust". All UK cheques are to “ACTS Trust”. Please contact Mr. Chris Cobbett using this 
obtain details for giving to Kolkata City Mission from the UK.

Regards,
Together with the team,
Shaji & Beena

July 2023

I was a gangster

Babushona, who works with us at Kiran Social Enterprises for over 5 years now as a Master tailor was recently beaten by his neighbour living in the slums due to a quarrel that developed following an issue with some folks urinating near his hut.

Babushona lives with his grandmother in the slums in a small hut measuring 8ft by 10ft. His neighbours come to urinate at the corner of his hut, close to the area where they cook their meals. Babusuna spoke with the community members to avoid urinating close to his hut. However, some angry boys and neighbors got into a fight with Babusuna and beat him. It took a month to settle the issue, and now Babusuna is back to work.

Babushona has never seen his mother. She gave birth to him and left with someone else. Similarly, his father also left him at an early age and moved out with another woman. Babushona grew up under the care of his grandmother. He said, "I don't know what a mother's love or father's care feels like."
 
People used to hire him for gang fights, and that's how he grew up in the slum. Now that his grandmother is getting old and unable to work, Babushona’s job with Kiran allows them to sustain themselves. His dream is to turn their hut into a small house where he and his grandmother can live peacefully. $2.5 thousand dollars can provide him and his grandma with a decent dwelling in the slums.

Kids Summer Camp

This summer, we experienced scorching heat with the mercury touching above 40°C (104°F). The schools were closed for summer vacation, leaving the village kids with nowhere to go and no entertainment. That's when our team stepped in and organized a summer camp for the rural children. We engaged them in various indoor games, singing, action songs, skits, and discussions on improving life, nature, hygiene, and health. Two days with 250 children were really fun. Thanks to the village caterer, all of us enjoyed a delicious meal. There was enough to eat and drink, making the summer camp incredibly meaningful. They had never experienced anything like this before.

The Schools

Most of us have fond memories of elementary school where we began our learning journey. Playing with friends on the playground, falling down and getting hurt, having long bandages for small cuts, having lunch with other students, fighting and crying—these are the fun experiences we reminisce about.
 
The school projects we are conducting bring about significant changes in society. We are able to provide quality education to the children attending our schools. It's amazing to see rural children reading, writing, and speaking English. 
 
The Play School will now have more fun as we have added more colourful themes for their enjoyable learning. When children are given the opportunity to learn through play-based activities, their learning becomes fun. The rural children never had the chance for fun-based learning as they don't have a place to explore like children living in the city. Our school is striving to acquire more entertaining educational items to enhance their learning.

Please contact us if you are willing to help rural education by providing any educational materials. To make a small donation, please click this link. Making school fun can instill kids' lifelong love of learning and increase their curiosity.

We are immensely grateful to all our friends. Without your help, we would not have achieved all these accomplishments. We appreciate your prayers, well wishes, and ongoing financial support.
 
Regards

Together with the team

Shaji & Beena

April 2023

...Is he the same Akash?
Akash comes from a very poor family. His parents go for odd jobs to make ends meet; they don’t have any land for farming which makes his family even poorer in the village.  His mother has never gone to school but she wants both her sons, Akash and Rakesh to study in an English medium school for a better education. She said “I don’t want my sons to have a life like ours, we suffered a lot to meet our ends meet”. Even though Akash was not really coping with his school in his earlier days his mother’s persistence to keep him in school brought a lot of change in his studies, for four long years he could not learn English either for reading or for writing. He could not even speak well. Last month we were invited to be at the school assembly, and to our surprise, we witnessed Akash leading the assembly and he was speaking before the microphone boldly. We had to turn to the head teacher and reassure ourselves and I asked her “Is he the same Akash?” He has made much more improvement in his studies and is eager to complete high school in three years. 

Education is transforming lives 
The Manthano Modern School in the village is transforming the lives of rural children not so swiftly but gradually. We are facing so many challenges to bring this school up. During Covid, school really went down and we faced a lot of difficulties due to fear and panic among the parents. When we reopened the school last August after Covid we were shocked to see the number drop from 270 to 18 children. We were disheartened in spite of all our effort and huge investment in this school. We lost a lot of children. But we never gave up hope, our team initiated a strong follow-up. House visitation, and counselling with the parents, and soon that number began to grow from 18 to over 100. This year we are expecting new admissions of over 30 new students. 

We are also excited to announce the launch of the Manthano Modern School Instagram Page! Please find the link below and make sure to follow us to stay updated on events, photos, and other information on our profile.

Graduation Ceremony

Seeing the little ones graduating from their lower school to the upper school was a joyful season. Recently we had 20 children from Kindergarten who were promoted to Grade one. (Class I) their parents never witness the graduation event and their hearts were filled with the joy of seeing their little children progressing. This was the first time parents in the village witnessed a graduation ceremony like this.

The challenge to bring education to rural areas

In the middle of all challenges, we are taking this school up to bring education available to rural poor people who wish to educate children through English medium.  We bring teachers from 40 km away to teach English in the school. They face a lot of practical difficulties to reach school every day.  This academic year 3 teachers made a commitment to stay back in the village in limited accommodation to support the school so that they can spend more time with students and see them improving in English and learning other subjects.

Another challenge that we were facing is that we don't have a constant power supply. With the support of our faithful donors, we were able to get a set of Solar panels to supply power to the school. But recently something really went wrong with the solar grid’s inverter unit. Till we replace the unit we will not have a regular power supply. In order to replace this unit, we have to spend $2500

Project in the Slums

Santohsmitara Colony is a slum area in the suburbs of Kolkata. This colony is developed out of a dump area where over 500 families are staying so close to each other. We used to have medical camps once a year for the people of this community. This year we started a tailoring school for the women living in this community to give them an opportunity to learn to tailor.  The women have seen through our tailoring training programme other women are becoming independent by entering the marketplace. They hope to complete their training and many want to start their own business. 

Kolkata City Mission, January 2023

Dear Friends,

Before we can finish wishing happy new Year to our friends near and far, the days flew by so quickly. However, on behalf of the Kolkata City Mission team, we wish you a very happy new year!

We'd like to express our heartfelt appreciation for your selfless contribution to the December 2022 gift program. Your donation is very important to us. It contributes to the continuation of our commitment to serving needy children in slums and rural areas. We were able to provide a bag of Christmas gifts to over 500 children. This would not be successful without your act of generosity toward children in need.

Disha Tailoring School

Kolkata City Mission has established the Disha Tailoring School for women from low-income families. 16 women have started to attend this programme in 2016. Over the years, over 100 women have graduated from this school, and several of them have moved out to establish their own businesses.

Sumi came to our school only to learn how to make petticoats, but when she joined and became interested in completing her course, at the end of the day she became the first business lady of our school. Now she runs her own garment business and is able to employ two more women.

In the year 2019, Tanuja Khatu graduated from Disha Tailoring School and started her own tailoring business. She, like many women in the slums, struggled to raise capital to start her business. With what she had, she purchased a sewing machine and began her operation from her small hut. Tanuja Khatu is earning enough to feed her family today from her business. She earned enough to buy a Scooty (a two-wheeler) of her own, which she had been dreaming of for a long time. We can see she is growing up as a small entrepreneur.     

Sports Day

On the 23rd of January, we conducted sports for Manthano Modern School students. It was an exciting time for students, parents, and school personnel.

We anticipate that many more children from rural areas will be admitted to Manthano Modern School this year. Please pray that we will get a good number of children to continue to attend school. Dropout rates in rural schools are extremely high.

Thank you very much for all your prayers and your financial support to carry out this work. Without your help, it is next to impossible to carry out the work that Kolkata City Mission is doing. From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say a big thank you.

On behalf of the team

Shaji & Beena Amos