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| Success Stories |
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 Anubhab - a feeling inside
Music is alien to her ears neither can she sing. Yet her feet start tapping whenever she sees someone dance. Razia was bundled off by her parents as a 'disabled' child. None could ever imagine that one day Razia would reign the stage with such grace and rhythm. It was 'Anubhab' that helped Razia feel her inner strength to reach the spotlights. Today, a classical dancer, Razia Parveen has performed in many shows and has won numerous accolades.
For the last few years 'Anubhab' has been the 'second home' for the physically and mentally challenged children of Kolkata where they explore their inner self. Bringing the physically challenged children to the mainstream life is not only what 'Anubhab' aims at. Through its individual curriculum and care the organisation attempts to identify the potential of the children and explore their hidden talent. Razia has thirty companions of different age groups at 'Anubhab'. Some of them have succeeded and others are trying hard to overcome the challenges and expertise in their field of interest. Other than academic education the children are provided with speech therapy, counselling. Cultural activities and vocational training and physical exercises also compliment the curricula. At 'Anubhab' the children are free to rein and explore their creative potential. Besides, they are also encouraged to participate in the Special Olympics. The artefacts created by the budding artists are often sold to raise funds for the organisation. Contributions from the parents and the members have also been of great help. But these are not at par according to the necessity. Hurdles have made the task more challenging. Recently, 'Anubhab' has initiated health care and literacy programme for the street children of the city. For
'Anubhab' this is just the prelude. An endless path seems to ever evolve with many more tapping feet seeking the inner realisation to catch the spotlights.
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Rachana - a new creation
Every morning she walked eight long kilometres to reach her schoo
l. Sharmila attended her classes with hope to become an erudite but poverty comp
lelled her to be a 'drop-out' in her ninth standard.
The blemish of
'drop-out' would have haunted Sharmila her whole life, had she not come across 'Rachana Society for Social Reconstruction'. With a few other companions Sharmila began attending the classes especially meant for the deprived children. With countinuous struggle for existence and the unquenchable thirst for knowledge, today Sharmila, a graduate, is a guide to many other students at the centre. In 1989, a group of like-minded philanthropists came together to form 'Rachana Society for Social Reconstruction.' Through its need based development programmes the organisation attempts to address social problems related to education, health, community mobilisation and gender discrimination. In some of its projects Rachana joined hands with CRY - Child Relief and You. After graduation, Sharmila transgressed the limits of individual success and pride and joined her alma mater to serve the community to which she belonged. Spearheaded by Sharmila, under the patronage of Rachana, around eight hundred adolescent girls of the surrounding villages united themselves to form 'Kumari Dal' - with the aim to support themselves and encourage other rural women to be educated and self-reliant. Following the footsteps of the younger generation the women too formed 'Mahila Mandal' - a group to support the deprived women of the rural community. Rachana's 'Supportive Education Project' has been a ray of hope for the future generation of the region. The youth of the villages are benefited by the counseling and guidance provided by the organisation. Rachana also organises for cultural activities to generate awareness among the masses. Rachana has covered fifty villages of Maharastra through its welfare services and community development programmes. With committed individuals like Sharmila and organisations like CRY at their support, Rachana promises to transform many more village 'drop-outs' into future erudites of the nation.
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Bringing discovery to life
Polio crippled him when he was eight years old and doctors became
his day-long companion. The never-ending rendezvous with medical practitioners
had an unusual fallout - little Suresh could foresee his future profession.
He ranked among the first ten in the inter science examination. After the examination, Suresh approached the medical colleges of his locality. But he had been denied admission for he was considered 'unfit' for medical education. Hurdles made his task more challenging. Suresh approached the senior officials and ministers for help. Finally after three long months of wheeling from pillar to post, the 'never-say-die' student got his deserved admission to the Grant Medical College in Mumbai. Today, in his mid-fifties Dr Suresh Advani is the director of medical oncology at Jaslok Hospital in Mumbai. From the early days of his career Dr Advani has been delving deep into the medical science to find a way out to combat the deadly claws of cancer. The 'good doctor' pioneered the bone marrow treatment for leukaemia in India. More than five hundred of his papers on the subject have been published in various international medical journals. Dr Advani never let his research work stand between him and his patients. In fact, the wheel-chair bound doctor is much 'larger than life' for his patients. Crippled legs could never cripple his mind, but at times he feels helpless to see the wonting eyes of his terminally ill patients craving to live a day more. The doctor strongly believes that psychological counselling and mass awareness are equally necessary to provide palliative care to the ailing patients. With wife Geeta, he provides counselling to boost up his patients' confidence . Moreover, he personally reaches out to the public to inform them about the deadly disease and its prevention. Dhanwantari Award 2002, the nation's highest medical award has come as a milestone in Doctor Suresh Advani's journey towards his dream destination - a state-of-the-art medical centre for oncology that shall cater to the needs of the common people.
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Hope for the best
It has been twelve long years since Edith, Maureen and Celina came to Kolkata. An Irish by origin, Edith was happy in the 'City of Joy' till she came across the slums on the outskirts of the city. She was dismayed to visit the domicile of thousands of people who lived amidst the unbearable stench and filth of open sewers and dumped garbage. Robbed off their childhood, the children are identified by their profession as labourers, beggars, rubbish shifters or sex workers.
The year was 1999. The three Irish philanthropists founded 'Hope Foundation' for the street children, which is popularly known as the 'Edith Wilkins Hope Foundation'. An initial survey conducted by the organisation stated that poverty, dysfunctional families, alcoholism and abuse are the general causes that drive the children away from childhood. The trio went to the children and their parents to convince them that education might mean a ticket out of the hell. It has been a year since Hope has established a 'Home' for the street children which has been a secured shelter for twenty eight giggling children. There is a
'Drop-In' centre where a constant flow of children are introduced to education, counselling, medical care and healthy nutrition. The Foundation is soon to set up a 'Sick Bay' at the 'Drop-In'
centre, to maintain the health standards for children. Hope also conducts various learning centres, counselling hubs, cure centres in and around the city. Fund crunch has been a perennial problem. Donations from Ireland and overseas fund-raising efforts have been the lifeline for Hope. The Foundation also collaborates with other charitable organisations to continue with their activities. The Foundation strives on with the hope to remove the blemish of the
'City of the dreadful night'.
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 A childhood tale
She is nine-years old. Ever since she can remember she has been a domestic help. Like millions of child labourers she too had chosen a 'secured' path for herself, but the traumatic incident which she had experienced a couple of years ago wracked her life completely.
One day while her employers were going for a vacation she was left behind the locked doors all alone. Frightened and distraught, Mou kept on banging the door all through the night. Next morning police broke open the door and rescued her. But where was she to go now? With nowhere to go and none to look upon, Mou was left with her rescuers. The police took the initiative to find her a home and finally 'Parichiti', a local non-governmental organisation came into scene. Parichiti has been working for the rehabilitation of the underprivileged children of the city for quite some time. Mou could neither read nor write when she came to Parichiti. But her intelligence and will to learn drew the attention of Sister Cyril. Sister Cyril has been involved with the welfare activities of the deprived children through 'Parichiti'. Recently, she has initiated 'Rainbow' - a project dedicated to the cause of the underprivileged children of the city. Mou joined a group of giggling friends who are taken care of by Sister Cyril under the project. Within a year, Mou was eligible enough to be admitted to school. She was admitted to the fourth standard of local missionary school. Since her admission, Mou has been the topper in all the examinations. But it is music, dance and drama where her heart lies. Her performance at the National Conference for Child Labourers has fetched her award and recognition. Media has duly recognised Mou for her achievements against all odds, but it is imperative to go a step further also to evoke salutations for those innumerable children all around the globe who are still toiling from dawn to dusk to win the struggle called life.
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