FAMILIA HOME
K.C. THOMAS
Role: FOUNDER
Nirdhan’s first location started at Kanchrapara, 50 kms north of Kolkata. We started operating there in August 2011. We partnered with FAMILIA HOME for infrastructure support, like rented one room in their premises for our office. They also helped us with local contacts, trust and introductions to break into the communities, to give references for our first recruits from the local community.
Familia was founded by K.C. Thomas in August 1977. It all started in a remote village, Shikarpur, on the Indo-Bangladesh border of West Bengal. From the very beginning Familia had a policy to save homeless and abandoned children and raise them in a family environment with foster parents, brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties. Familia was an effort to provide the nearest alternative to a natural family to homeless and unwanted children, who for various reasons would miss out on normal adoption. Since then, it has grown and there are now five families(with 10-15 children in each) plus an old age home for senior citizens to both give the children a grandparent figure in their lives, as well as helping those elderly who would otherwise be on the streets. And they have more recently built an ambitious school both to provide education to the Familia children and poor in the villages as well as contribute towards the financial sustainability of Familia Home. Familia has an excellent relationship with neighbouring villages and provides many outreach services such as a crèche so women can work, women empowerment sessions and medical help for malaria etc. In 1980, Familia established itself on a large farm in Bhaluka village, 55 km north of Kolkata (Calcutta). Since then, nearly 500 children, both boys and girls, have lived in the foster families. For every one of them, Familia was a new birth, a new beginning without which many would have been lost or died having been abandoned on the village path; mainly girls. Much of what the children eat is from the farm.
To know more visit: www.familiaindia.org
CHHAYA
SHARDA RADHAKRISHNAN
Role: FOUNDER
We started our third location in village Sundia, 25 kms from Kolkata. It was very important that we found an institution to team up with for this purpose. One of Nirdhan’s directors (Mr. S. Radhakrishnan) introduced us to Chhaya in Sundia, a shelter for abandoned animals which employs 25-30 people from the villages. The work of Chhaya and Nirdhan remains entirely separate but we benefit from the association.
To know more visit: www.prca.in
BASIX
VIJAY MAHAJAN
Role: FOUNDER
Nirdhan started in year 2011 by partnering with BASIX which is a reputed livelihood promotion institution established in 1996, well known to our CEO Mr. V. Subramanyan. BASIX has worked with over 3.5 million customers, of which 90% are rural poor households and about 10% urban slum dwellers. BASIX works in 17 states – including West Bengal – 223 districts and over 39,251 villages. BASIX’s strategy is to provide a comprehensive set of livelihood promotion services which include Financial Inclusion Services (FINS), Agricultural/Business Development Services (Ag/BDS) and Institutional Development Services (IDS) to rural poor households under one umbrella. We partnered with BASIX for two years during the launch of our first enterprise – PDS and we have again partnered with them for two years for the launch of our second enterprise – AMS.
To know more visit: www.basixindia.com
AMAR SEVA SANGHA
PROF. BALAI KISHORE SAMANTA
Role: FOUNDER
Our fourth location is in Kolaghat, 70 kms from Kolkata in a village called Raine within the organization of Amar Seva Sangha. Led by chief functionary, Prof Balai Kisore Samanta, ASS is currently working in the field of women and child health, Old age home, Day care center, vocational programme, fish cultivation, cultural programme, medical camps to remote villages, environment and sanitation.
KRISHNAGAR GAIT ROAD WOMEN HANDICRAFTS DEV SOCIETY
SUSHIL ADHIKARY & MONIKA ADHIKARY
Role: FOUNDER
Our fifth office location is in Nadia, 103 kms from Kolkata, office within the premises of Krishnagar Gait Road Women Handicrafts Dev Society, managed by an elderly couple, Mr. and Mrs. Adhikary who work with the women in the rural areas for weaving and making jute products. They supply the finished products to shops based in North and South of India. The couple is extremely cooperative and has helped us find local youths for employment for our programme.