Help disadvantaged Bengali children + young people

Art classes as we saw in the last report are considered an important part of a child’s education at the NLC school, and those who are talented are encouraged to attend extra classes. Alindra’s report last time referred to the fact that not all children are the same, thankfully, and some children’s talents lie in subjects that do not receive the same attention in the curriculum as the traditional academic ones, such as Art.

Here are some examples of the children’s artwork, and it is interesting to me how much information you can get from the picture about the way of life of the children and their families in Sarberia. The fisheries are an important employer for the childrens’ fathers, as the school is situated in West Bengal towards the Bay and therefore low-lying with lots of inland waterways. Fisheries and Brickmaking factories are the two main employers in the region. Carrying objects on one’s head would seem unusual to us but the women locally think nothing of carrying these large baskets full of provisions, which by the way appears to improve their posture rather than inhibit it!

What is heartening is to see the subtle changes that are occurring such as the young schoolgirl arriving home as her mother cooks, and the bin outside the school with the slogan, USE ME. These 2 are both advancements; girls going to school and looking after the environment. Both recognise the development of this extremely isolated area, but one that is benefiting from the vision of one man, Alindra Naskar, who has dedicated his retirement to raising the expectations and the potential of the local children, especially the girls.

Wouldn’t you like to support Alindra’s vision?