Sarada Kalyan Bhandar(SKB)
A Proposal for Work an Hour
Asha-NYC/NJ
Organization Details
Name of the Organization: Sarada Kalyan Bhandar
Date of Establishment: July 21, 1984
Details:
Registration Number: Registered at Midnapore Sub-Registrar’s Office (Regn. Number 145)
Tax Exemption Certificate Number: Assmnt/1687/8E/166/84-85/Ct dt. 21.12.2000
Exemption Valid Dates:
FCRA Number: 147040060
Proposal
1. How the Organization was created and what are the types of activities it provides:
The principal motivation to have started this group is to help the financially backward rural communities through the fostering of education and health awareness.
Problems:
· Parents being uneducated, studies of the child are completely ignored as they prefer their children to be child labour
· Lack of an academic atmosphere and poverty stop the children from studying at home
· Lack of nutritious food, lack of health and hygiene and adherence to superstition result in very high child mortality.
· A complete lack of a value based society and ignorance of Indian culture among the youth in the community
· SKB was founded to address these social evils. Education enhances culture and slowly brings about a positive change in society. Mother being the nucleus of the family can build a cultural base and in the long term help the society create a well balanced atmosphere.
One of the highlights of SKB's effortsis providing children witha better quality of life is the introduction of basic nourishment at schools they run. Prior to 1991-92, farmers at Kalyanpith, used to give mahua tabs and even country liquor (which are known to curb hunger) to their children in the morning before they went for coaching. They did this because they did not have any money to provide the most basic of breakfasts nourishmentsmost of ustake for granted. This stimulated SKB tostart a fund raising drive which helped them collect funds, initially they used this to provide the children with biscuits, but the endeavour proved so successful that by 1994 they had enough funds to provide children with milk. Today the drive has reached a level where SKB can provide the children with a weekly menu where the children are provided with milk for 3 days and with fruit, barley and molasses and fruit for the other 3.
2. Number of administrative and field staff:
Administrative Staff: In the office – 16, Project Co-ordinaton – 15
Teaching Staff: 47 (includes all student volunteers)
Most of the teaching staff are students who are also beneficiaries of SKB under their higher education program. So in that sense there is some kind of self-sustenance.
3. A brief description of the long term objectives of the organization:
§ Extending financial assistance to needy metirorious students of rural areas for their higher education including Medical, Engineering, Technical and Vocational training through the Higher Education Project
§ Improving education in the backward communities from Nursery to Degree courses.
§ Taking Care of destitute children.
§ Encouraging education for women in backward areas
§ Improving Health care of rural children and women under the Child Health Care Mission and Rural Health Awareness Program
§ Eradicating illiteracy
§ Encouraging independence of women through the Women Self Independence Promoting Scheme
§ Encouraging the girl child through the Girl Child Efficiency Development Scheme
§ Encouraging needy children through the Child Welfare Project
§ Developing a value based society
5. Brief Description of any previous projects the organization has undertaken:
§ Tutoring: To assist children attending various schools in keeping up with their class-mates
§ Serving as School: For children at the nursery level, there are no schools in the vicinity. Also many do not go to chool due to financial constraints, low quality of the schools and the long distances to the Government Schools.
§ Providing an enabling environment: Distributing snacks, Clothing, study materials etc. for primary level children. Encouraging patients to send their children to school.
§ Providing medical care to the children of these villages:
§ Regular preventive health measures.
§ Regular health check-ups and referral to the Government Hospital in necessary cases.
Activities of Higher Education Project and Women Efficiency Promoting Scheme:
The other important aspect of SKB is its Higher Education Program. Under this program, meritorious students who are in financial need are given a scholarship enabling them to study at universities and colleges. These students are sometimes from the villages aforementioned or from other rural areas, mostly, but not limited to Midnapore. There are around 470 students who are given financial assistance (2001). As a matter of policy, SKB does not provide all the funds they need and expects them to earn some money. This enables SKB to reach out to more deserving young minds. These students come back to SKB as tutors for the Child Welfare Program, or as regular donors. Many such students are now successfully placed in life as doctors, professors, teachers, scientists, engineers etc.
Students coming out of the Child Welfare Program are expected to be recipients of the Higher Education Program as well.
Under the Women Efficiency Promoting scheme, deserving girls have been fully sponsored for higher education. The goals of this project are:
§ To spread women education, create self-independence among women.
§ To Establish that women are not to be treated as second class citizens. In a poor country like India, women can support men in various aspects and thereby contribute meaningfully to the socioeconomic structure of the society.
§ Increase literacy among women.
§ Eradicate social evils like early marriage, rape, torture, abuses etc.
§ To make women aware of their rights and laws existing in their favour
Mousumi Manna, Sabita Jana & Bhaswati Mukherjee came to SKB after completing their schooling when their parents were contemplating an early marriage for them. Thanks to the efforts of SKB they nowhave a strong foothold today. Mousumi Manna secured first class in Maths both in her Under Graduate & Post Graduate studies, was selected by Govt. of West Bengal for Teachership, Sabita Jana is now at B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre, Kolkata after completing B.Sc. Hons in Nursing and Bhaswati Mukherjee is in National Thermal Power Corporation as an electrical engineer.
6. Describe location, current conditions (number of schools, population):
Currently children of nine villages are distributed under three centres. There are 542 (nearly 255 of them girls) children. They are currently being tutored under open skies or trees due to lack of infrastructure.
§ Baisakhpally Centre: This centre covers one village with no built up accommodation. The center runs from 4 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. Villagers share their cottages for remedal coaching. This centre usually caters to about 70 children from nursery to class X. There is no school building where the coaching can be conducted outside the school scheduled hours.
§ Rangamati Centre: This centre covers 3 villages – Bhagabatipally, Rangamati and Pakhijapally with 122 children from Nursery class to Class Viii in the evening from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Half of the classes are conducted in three rooms and a verandah spared by the adjacent primary school. It is difficult to carry on classes during the rain and in summer because of the scorching sun. Classes in winter are shortened due to lack of sunlight.
§ Gabnala Centre: This centre covers four villages – Khejurdanga, Nchu Gope, Hamarpata and Gabnala with 270 children from Nursery to Class VIII. The entire centre here is conducted under banyan trees and on a cemented platform made for paddy drying by the villagers. Here morning sessions run from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
§ SKB also has a two storied office building in the town of Midnapore, which is far from the villages. This building houses a library of over 2000 books. There is a computer as well which is mostly used for office work.
In response to an appeal by SKB, the Government of West Bengal has granted 0.33 acres of land on which education and health care programs can be conducted at a central location within commutable distance for all children. The estimate for construction of this building is around USD 58,000. Children from all the eight villages can come to this place. They have now fenced this land and have a platform here so that classes from V to VIII can be conducted. A ninth village, Indirapally has also been inducted because it s adjacent to this plot of land. Note that the above mentioned centres (points a to c) are partly defunct because they are now using this plot of land for ther classes. They are conducting classes here just to show the Government that they are using the land and are interested in it. SKB runs the risk of losing the plot unless construction starts soon.
7. What is the goal of the project (describe background of the children, what changes this project aims to bring about in the current conditions:
To construct the first floor of the Child Welfare Project building for SKB. The Project reaches out to underprivileged children. To give a background of the project:
The Child Welfare Project was instituted in 1989 as a response to the disastrous pass rates at the school exams in the area. Initially the project started in an open paddy field and was situated for a while under either its auspices or under the roofs of villagers. The school was also at the mercy of the vagaries of nature, the scorching sun interspersed with torrential rain liable to hamper the enthusiasm of the most passionate student. But the hard work put in by SKB paid off, the project is now a proper institution which has shown record performances not only in terms of exam results (pass rates have improved from 33% to 98% over the lifetime of the project) but also the all round development of the children who are benefited by the project.
Highlights of the project so far:
Soumitra Mait and Soumik Sar - students of a backward community from Baisakhpally were selected by the Foundation for Excellence Inc, CA USA were selected for Scholarships due to high excellence in their academic results - they were students in the Child Welfare Project
8. Beneficiaries of the project (how many children, number of girls / boys, age and other demographics, and other relevant details:
Age Group / Male / Female / Total0-5 years / 89 / 70 / 159
6-9 Years / 124 / 104 / 228
10-14 years / 68 / 78 / 146
15-25 years / 4 / 5 / 9
Total / 285 / 257 / 542
Student to teacher ratio 12:1
Dr. Kartik Ghoshan SKB product ofa veryimpoverished familywent on to complete his Ph.D from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai then went to Maryland for his post doctoral research and is nowassociate professor at MSW. There are a number of such stories of people overcoming desperate odds to come to terms with their potential. Point is more and more children in the areaare now no longer shackled by the occupation of their families, they are discovering a world filled with limitless opportunities where the only constraint is their hard work, attitude and natural ability (all of which are being optimised due to SKB's untiring efforts) and not thatone isfrom a godown coolie's, rickshaw puller's or a brick field worker's family or a woman born to a poor family.
9. Details of Funding Requirements:
Total remaining construction expenses as described by SKB in May 2004:
$31,971
Amount sent to them for construction purposes, since:
$10,000 (sent through Asha Mid-Hudson Valley, May 24, 2004)
$2,626 (part of check posted Oct 27, 2004)
Amount yet to be raised:
$19,345
The initial request came in 2001 to construct the building which was to comprise of 2 groundfloor wings. The estimated cost of the project then was $ 56,000. Of this Asha NYC NJ was able to send $ 20,000. Using these funds the trust was able to build only one wing on the ground floor.
Subsequent to the completion of this wing, the trust decided it to be a better idea to build a floor above the existing ground floor wing since that would give more space for the children in terms of play or other recreational activities. So now the revised estimates are $ 31,971 of which they SKB has already received $ 12,626 of funds. Of the remaining $ 19,345 estimated to be raised through WAH, Asha NYC/NJ can raise $ 10,000 with the balance coming from the Yale Asha Chapter.
10. Detailed break-up of costs involved along with details of money received from other sources, if any:
Estimate for construction of Child Welfare Project Building of Sarada Kalyan Bhandar
(Construction of First Floor)
(Quantitative Estimate, Rate & Amount)
LIST OF EXPENSE FOR THE PROJECT
Srl. No. / Item (Equipment) / Rate / Amount (Rs.)1. / Hire + Labour charges for shuttering
a) without staging
b) with staging / 462M2 @81.50/M2 / =37,653.00
348 M2 @112/M2 / =38,976.00
2. / R.C.C. (4:2:1) with chandil chips / 82M3 @2395/M3 / =1,93,995.00
3. / M.S. Reinforcement for R.C. Work / 16M/T@27500/M/T / =4,40,000.00
4. / 12.5 Cm. Th. Brick work (4:1) / 76M2 @238/M2 / =18,088.00
5. / Brick Work in first floor (6:1) / 64M3 @1682/M3 / =1,07,648.00
6. / Ordinary gray artificial stone flooring / 250M2 @138/M2 / =34,500.00
7. / Sal wood frame / 2Cmm @26500/M% / =53,000.00
8. / Panel shutter 35 mm. Th/ S.S. category “A” Type / 40M2 @1380/M2 / =55,200.00
9. / Calazes shutter 35 mm. Th/ glass panes/ S.S. category “A” type wood / 6M2 @920/M2 / =5,520.00
10. / M.S. Gril of approved design / 860 Kg @26.50/Kg. / =22,790.00
11. / M.S. clamp for door window frame / 120No. @28 each / =3,360.00
12. / Cement plaster ceiling / 250M2 @30 /M2 / =7,500.00
13. / Cement plaster
a) outside plaster
b) 19 mm. Th (6:1) / 594M2 @41.50/M2 / =24,651.00
/M2 / =23,435.00
14. / Neat cement punning / /M2 / =966.00
15. / White washing (for Plaster) / /M2 / =2,903.00
16. / Snow cem (2 coats) (for plaster) / 390M2 @16.80/M2 / =6,552.00
17. / Painting (2 coats & Priming)
a) wood
b) steel / 104M2 @56/M2 / =5,824.00
78M2 @52 /M2 / =4,056.00
Total / Rs.10,89,012.00
Sanitation & Plumbing (8%) / =87,121.00
Electrification (20%) / =2,17,802.00
GRAND TOTAL / Rs.13,93,935.00
11. How long will the benefit last? Please give an approximate US $/child/year estimate in the project: