I just came back from SKB. More than anything else, it was a humbling experience to see people happy with whatever little they had. Students studied under huge banyan trees, a scene which I thought existed only in books on the life history of great men. I left my home at 4.00 am and I am happy that I made the trip.

Before I start I would like to bring to your attention that I made the mistake of letting them know in advance that I was coming. So they did make some preparations.I did not have an alternative as this was a remote part of the state. But from what I saw, I don't think things are too different in the real case.

Sarada Kalyan Bhandar (SKB) is located approximately 150 kms from Calcutta. It is a three-hour train journey through the heart of rural bengal. The project itself is on the outskirts of Midnapore town but the nearest metalled road is 2 kms. from the project. The road that led to the project was not even paved with bricks. There is no electricity and people stay awake as long as there is kerosene in the lantern. The residents are brick kiln workers, rickshaw pullers, landless laborers and poor farmers.

There are a couple of schools in the area but they require admission tests to enter. These seats were invariably taken up by the more fortunate kids, from Midnapore town and these poor people who did not have the monetary strength to attend tuition classes were left in the dark. So SKB was started which provides remedial coaching to poor people free of cost, such that they have a better chance of attending the government schools.

SKB caters to students from kindergarten to class twelve. The kids up to class four are provided with milk and bread as an added incentive. Students are provided with dresses and strict attention is given to develop hygienic habits. The classes are form 7.00 am to 9.00 am and then the students go to their respective government schools. The percentage of entry of students into government schools has increased from 33 to 99.2%, after the project started. There are 462 students currently from eight villages. There is pressure to include another village, which means that the number of students will reach 550. From what I saw, the current teacher to student ratio is roughly 1:10. The teachers are previous beneficiaries of the same project and hence are extremely dedicated.

The students seemed to learn well. They were able to recite poems. Some of the kindergarten kids were writing the english alphabets. In the english class, I asked what is a tiger called in bengali? The first answer was haathi. But the poor kid was terrified, and she rectified herself later. SKB has developed a nice library in their office building and books are given out routinely to needy students. The best thing that I saw was that SKB was paying a good emphasis on yoga, sports, drawing and singing. Something, which is supposed to have brought some purpose, in the lives of not only the kids but also the parents.

SKB has been operating for over ten years now, under trees and open pavements. Honestly speaking I did not see any signs of economic development of the area. But speaking to some of the teachers I realized that there has been a positive change in the mindset of people. Dropout rates from these coaching classes are zero and parents are known to have beaten up their wards if they played truant. There is a tremendous desire among mothers to send their children to this center. There was an instance where a kid once came to the school and said that her parents will not buy her clothes during the pujas. They will buy her a harmonium instead. In another instance a mother said that they can see lanterns lit in the neighborhood up to 9.00 pm as the kids are studying. Earlier the fathers used to come back from work, and after drinking they used to beat up their wives and everybody went to sleep by sundown.

This was just the young children's project. There are three other projects, which take care of higher education, girl child development and a health care program.

Their current requirement for day-to-day running is 5000$. But due to increased pressure they requested me to provide them with 6000$. They also need around $30000 for their school building urgently, the land for which has already been acquired from the government.

Overall I am really impressed by the project.