Author: Jane Manson
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A brief update on the Topsia Evening Class Education project in Kolkata
I am in regular touch with Parveen our programme co-ordinator and who has taken a special interest in this cohort of young people. This is what she tells me: Our centres are open and the vulnerable children from our communities are coming in for daily classes. As you see from the photos social distancing is…
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Fahim
This is Fahem. Yesterday his mother was crushed to death by a truck. This week Fahem and 19 other young people from our Topsia Evening Class are due to receive smartphones to enable them to continue their education online. Fahem is 17 years old and wants to be a lawyer. Fahem lives in a shelter…
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Thank you for all your support through 2020
It has been an especially difficult year for India’s most vulnerable communities. But with the support of our wonderful donors and with Tiljala SHED’s hard work, we have been able to provide huge amounts of food relief, educational support and disaster relief. Read on… Lockdown When India locked down on 25th March, no one was…
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Saika’s Story
Saika is 17 years old and lives in a a shelter beside the open sewers of Topsia in Kolkata. She lives with her father, who is a street vendor selling puffed rice and gram; her mother, a homemaker; a sister and brother. The family struggles to survive on her father’s tiny income. Yet all three…
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Disaster has Struck. Again
I don’t really know how to report this. Disaster has struck. Again. I have, for better or worse, tied myself to the fate of a handful of destitute communities in central Kolkata. For five years I have been raising funds to support a little grassroots NGO (Tiljala SHED) working to help the members of…
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Bhola’s Story
This is Bhola. He is 16 years old and lives in the Topsia canalside squatters, a row of shacks built on a spit of land in the middle of an open sewer in central Kolkata. There are two fresh water taps for the 710 families in this community. The water flows for a couple of…
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We need a new vehicle
DONATE NOW Tiljala SHED’s faithful workhorse – a grey Maruti Suzuki Eeco – is almost beyond use. We desperately need to find a replacement. Bought in 2008 this 7 seater van has been essential to all of Tiljala SHED’s activities. But right now it is absolutely central: since India’s lockdown began, this vehicle has enabled…
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Distributing Emergency Rations During COVID19
It is Ramadan, the temperature is in the 30s and this little team has distributed emergency food parcels to 1650 families (almost 10,000 people) over the last month. The transportation, storage, packaging, and distribution were all handled by this small group under the most challenging circumstances. Supplies and funds were made available by generous donors.…
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News from Kolkata during COVID19 lockdown crisis
I was last in Kolkata in January. One woman who has become a friend over the years is Razia. She lives with her disabled husband and 3 children in a shelter beside the Topsia nullah (a stinking open sewer or canal). She is illiterate and terribly poor but determined to make a better life for…