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A rat in the pantry...
Brian Flanagan • 31 July 2018
Spring 2018
My eldest son reminded me recently that it has been some time since the last newsletter. For many reasons, not excuses, this temporary absence has now been resolved.
On a personal note I had an adverse reaction to medication prescribed late last year and was beginning to fear that I was on the way out! Thankfully all is now in order and as you can read I didn’t, as the Indians would say, “expire”.
Another much more positive reason has been the positive strength of the economy and a very busy first quarter in our motor business, Motorvalu€ Gti. The days, and nights, have been filled and stretched as far as humanly possible. That’s not a moan as I’ve learned from forty years’ experience in the motor trade that making hay when the sun shines is always a good mantra.
As I write I’m flying along the Indian countryside aboard the Shatabdi Express returning from spending the past couple of days with my old friend, Peter, in the town of Bokaro, a five-hour train journey from Kolkata.
Peter is one of the original MC Brothers, one of a kind, one of the very best this world has to offer. I first met Peter when Niall Dalton (Director Bekind) and I first went to Calcutta as volunteers back in 2005. Peter was the superior in Nabo Jibon, a home for the dying and destitute. Home to many special needs children with whom we were privileged to work.
Peter has held many positions of responsibility within the Missionaries of Charity founded by the now saint, his beloved Mother Teresa. It was Mother
who taught the young MC Brother how to tend and dress the wounds of the outcast lepers in Titagarh. In turn Peter would encourage and train many novice brothers, supporting them and helping them cope with the cruel reality of their vocation, the love of their fellow human beings. He is fluent in Hindi, Bengali, Spanish, English and his native tribal tongue, Santal. He has spent time in Korea and South America. Peter is as much at home with mop and bucket as with pen and paper. His selfless attitude has been evident since we first met and I have witnessed his love for the poor, specially the children who he steers towards education.
In Bokaro, or “steel city” as it is known, the MC brothers run two centres: one for TB which still has a firm hold on many; and the other centre is for the treatment of leprosy. I have been fortunate to see first hand the priceless work carried out in many of the homes and centres opened by Mother and still playing a vital role in treatment and recuperation of the shunned.
It is interesting to note that she has as many critics in death as she had during her life. If they could only realise how much goodness emanated from this little Albanian nun. Her love and dedication for the poorest of the poor lives on through the sisters and brothers throughout our divided world.
In visiting the leprosy centre in Bokaro with Peter, I spent some time with the ladies who were confined to their dormitory for much of their day. From the young to the very old, their days could be long and uneventful, a clean but spartan room with their few belongings was their home. How to bring some cheer to ones who have been shunned and made unwanted by their community. They had that sense of calm and acceptance about them and despite their varied conditions of disfigurement they had dignity. When I told them how beautiful they looked in their richly coloured saris they beamed with delight with smiles that lit up the spartan room. I asked for permission from Peter and the ladies to take their photos. How happy they were to see themselves albeit self-conscious as some covered hands to conceal the ravages of their cross which is that awful disease, leprosy.
The village adjacent to the centre is home to many families of people with leprosy. It is a fully functioning village with a school, where I was welcomed by the children.
Back in Kolkata, I had ensured the children in Bekind
Boys’ Home were unaware that their “Brian Uncle” was back in town. I had made a plan with home manager, Joy Deep, and the staff that we would tell the boys that there was a strange noise coming from the pantry, a scratching noise - Could it be a rat?!
Armed with cricket bats and badminton rackets the nervous excited children were ready to confront the rodent who was stealing their food!
Love is powerful and loved I was, even as a rat, as fear turned to joy and a welcome not to be forgotten.
I spent a good deal of quality time with the boys and enjoyed our day outings to Science City, Victoria Memorial, Mother House and the Hard Rock Café. PIC
We broke out and bought a new TV, a smart one from Sony. Great for sharing photos and video clips directly from your phone. The children were in exam mode during my visit and all are doing well soaking up education like sponges.
One child who, some four years ago, was lost and begging in Howrah train station and sniffing glue to escape his tragic circumstances, came to me and spoke about his results. In his class of fifty pupils Raju (not real name) was now third and his average score in his subjects was 79%! The ten-year-old beamed when I told him how proud I was of him.
Lost and found he thrives with the others who could have remained street children only for the generosity of strangers.
Like all children they grow quickly and I visited the boys who had been in Bekind
and have progressed to the Hope home for older boys in Tollygunge. Again, great to see the care given by Hope Foundation as they continue their education and become young men with values and confidence. A lunch for them in the Bengal Tiger Café was in order and a good chance for some catch up for me.
I made the journey north to Siliguri, where 18-year-old Robi is studying a course in computer programming in Don Bosco College. Keeping a promise that if he studied hard we would, with the generosity of his Irish sponsor provide him with a new laptop. A boy abandoned as a child with his baby sister in his arms several years back, continues to show courage and determination in college life.
Last year’s Bekind
student volunteers have recently finished sitting their own exams with the Leaving Cert and to encourage them on their way the boys sent them a message of encouragement.
For each of you reading this and making it possible for Bekind
to reach out and lend a helping hand to those in need -Thank you.
In this newsletter, Founder Director Brian Flanagan shares insights from his latest trip to Kolkata, with a group of students from CCC.
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In this Christmas Newsletter Brian shares some updates following his return from India in December 2023.
Our friends at runa Yoga ran a fundraiser for Bekind on Wednesday 21 June 2023
After 11 years, the Bekind Boys' Home is moving!
In this newsletter, Brian Flanagan, Founder Director of Bekind Ireland, shares some of his experiences from his visits to Kolkata in April and November 2022.
Congratulations to Ricky Flanagan for completing the Dublin Marathon for Bekind
Asana Masterclass
Happy birthday Bekind Boys' Home
The saying “ absence makes the heart grow fonder ” has been uppermost in my mind over the past months. My regular Zoom or WhatsApp calls with the children in Kolkata are a help but almost two years have passed since being with them in person. I am amused by the deeper voices of some of the children as they enter their teenage years. The voices and the bodies change and a request for six new bunk beds was a reminder of how much the boys are growing. A very generous donation from a local person came just at the right time to cover the costs.
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(IRL) CLG trading as "Bekind Ireland" is an Irish company limited by guarantee (Company Number: 448441) and Irish registered charity (Registered Charity Number: 20067960), with its offices at 33 Woodpark, Castleknock, Dublin D15KP6R, Ireland.