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Kolkata 2011 Full Report
Report By: Barbara Rainbow
Keeley Meredith (pictured above) one of our Brigaders from 1st Charlton Kings Girls Brigade Company, who had been interested in the work in Kolkata for a quite a while came with me to assist with the work at the GNCEM, and also another friend Lin, who has visited Kolkata with me before.
This was the eighth year that I had volunteered with the Good News Children’s Education Mission. I have in the past led Summer Teams and Church Teams, through BMS World Mission.
There was a sense of excitement as we arrived in Kolkata, the noise, the traffic; the smell and I just felt I had ‘come home’. From the first day we started working with the children at the mobile schools, and it was great to continue the good relationships with the teachers, the children and Enouk and Subir from the Good News Education Mission. The children are picked up from where they live on the streets, or the rubbish dump, and taken to school on the GNCEM bus |
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When they arrive at school, they are washed and put into school uniform, and then there is an assembly with songs, bible stories, dramas and a prayer. The children are then given breakfast followed by lessons. I was teaching maths and English to 9 and 10 year olds, some of whom were very bright. Keeley was helping in the class of 4 to 6 year olds. |
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There is then a very lively playtime with skipping ropes, games of cricket, bubbles etc. Then the children are given a lunch of curry. And then after a final playtime, they are taken back to their homes.
The Good News Children’s Education Mission also run a Baby Care centre where they look after babies and toddlers from the age of 8 months to 4 years. We spent quite a lot of time at the baby care centre. The children are taken there on the bus and spend most of the day there in lovely surroundings. They are washed and put into clean clothes and have a little assembly, followed by breakfast. They have lots of play, learning to share and play together. The older children spend time with puzzles and other educational games. Lunch follows, and then they sleep for about two hours. When they wake up, they get more time to play, and then have a snack before they go back to their ‘homes’ on the street. All the gifts of toiletries, clothes etc were very much appreciated `- thank you everyone.
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Enouk and Subir also set up 2 hostels a few years ago, one for boys and one for girls. The children in the hostels are from the streets and the slums of Kolkata who show promise, and they stay at the hostel where they get the chance to attend mainstream school. The children who live at the hostel blossom and look really healthy due to good food, medical care, and a better quality of life. One of the teachers at the school came from the slums at the age of 6 and grew up in the hostel, recently qualified as a teacher, and is now working towards his Masters in Education. What a wonderful success story |
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It was a privilege to visit Subir’s church and to be part of the Sunday services. There were around 400 people worshipping together. We also visited 3 of their 40 home groups where around a dozen of us were crammed into a small shack and we felt humbled by the love and hospitality shown to us.
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| The monsoon rain was particularly heavy this year, and it rained for days on end. This meant that in the area where we were staying there was widespread flooding, including the area around the church and we had quite a difficult journey across stepping stones to the church. The local people carried on with their daily lives despite the bad conditions. |
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© Charlton Kings Baptist Church |
