1. Fistful of Grains
This project was initiated by National Association of Soroptimist International in India (NASI) in 2015 and adopted by all the 14 clubs in India. The objective of this project is to inculcate amongst children aged 10 to 14 years, the spirit of sharing food with the poor & needy. Middle school children of prestigious schools are given SI cloth bags and requested to put aside a fistful of grain every day during mealtimes for a period of about 2 weeks. The children then bring their contributions to school, and the grains so collected are reached to orphanages and other needy institutions in the city which run community meal programmes for the poor and needy. Rice has been selected in Kolkata as it is the staple food in West Bengal.
In the last 3 years, the following schools have partnered with SI Calcutta for the project. We are very grateful to them for their kind generosity, as about 3000 kg of rice has been contributed by the children and teachers.
| Name of school | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Garden High School |
| 2 | Sri Sri Academy |
| 3 | Modern High School for Girls |
| 4 | Akshar |
| 5 | Mahadevi Birla World Academy |
| 6 | Laxmipat Singhania Academy |
| 7 | The BSS School |
| 8 | Silver Point School |
| 9 | La Martiniere for Girls |
| 10 | Jewish Girls School |
Based on a very rough estimate, beneficiaries under the project would be around 1000 people, mainly children. Beneficiary institutions are listed below.
| Name of Organisation | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Calcutta Social Project |
| 2 | Bustee Welfare Centre |
| 3 | Vivekanda Adarsha Milan Mandir |
| 4 | South Calcutta Inner Wheel School |
| 5 | Veer Bikram Welfare Society |
| 6 | Paribarikee |
| 7 | Chitrangada ( Shishuder Mukta Aasroy Kendra) |
| 8 | Debmalya Seva Mission |
| 9 | Balarampur Mother Teresa Unnayan Samity |
| 10 | Bel Pahari Sri Ramkrishna Vivekananda Sevashram |
| 11 | Sundarban Snehadan Foundation |
| 12 | All Bengal Women’s Union |
2. Keeping Clean and Nutrition Project
The children who attend the tutorial classes under Hold My Hand Project are taught about cleanliness and are given soap and basic toiletries. They are also counselled about good eating habits and given nutritious snacks.
3. Sharad Anand
October heralds the season of festivals in India. On the occasion of Durga Puja and Deewali, new clothes and sweets are gifted to the children enrolled for the Hold My Hand Project at Sujata Devi Vidyamandir, the children of the inmates of the Alipur Women’s Correctional Home as well as Chitrangada orphanage. In the last 3 years, around 100 children have benefited from the programme every year.
4. Keeping Warm
The project provides woollen clothes and blankets to needy children to provide warmth in the winter months.
In December 2015, 50 blankets were gifted to children supported by Balarampur Mother Teresa Unnayan Samity which runs a community development programme in Lakhshmikantapur, District South 24 Paraganas, West Bengal.
Beneficiary Institutions
| Organisation | |
| 1 | Shishu Teertha School of Project 5O |
| 2 | Nari Seva Sangha |
| 3 | Sundarban Snehadan Foundation |
| 4 | Bel Pahari Sri Ramkrishna Vivekananda Sevashram |
| 5 | South Calcutta Inner Wheel School |
| 6 | Calcutta Social Project |
| 7 | Bustee Welfare Centre |
| 8 | Vivekanda Adarsha Milan Mandir |
| 9 | Veer Bikram Welfare Society |
| 10 | Paribarikee |
| 11 | Chitrangada ( Shishuder Mukta Aasroy Kendra) |
| 12 | Debmalya Seva Mission |
| 13 | Balarampur Mother Teresa Unnayan Samity |
| 14 | All Bengal Women’s Union |
