Now Christmas is behind us and 2008 ended with a sense of uncertainty as to what this current year would bring. How could our country and booming economy go from being heralded as being an example of success and wealth with a triple “A” rating to now the butt end of jokes in Europe’s financial circles? Financial golden circles, dodgy deals, talk of half a million of us being unemployed, millions are now obsolete we must talk in billions when discussing the national debt. January 2008 saw the highest new vehicle registrations ever in the history of the state and yet this January sales were down 66% and the government’s tax take down 80%! Talk of the International Monetary Fund coming to bail out Ireland! Unthinkable? House repossessions, queues outside the nations dole offices, welcome to reality, Ireland 2009.    

Why do I write this? What has this got to do with Calcutta? In Ireland many people are going through a tough time, becoming unemployed, facing loosing not just a livelihood but also a home, a car, a relationship perhaps. It is and has happened at such a pace there is a sense of bewilderment but in Ireland no one will go hungry, no one will have to beg or live on the streets. Yes we have homeless, yes we have poor and drug abuse etc but there is choice,,,, in Calcutta choice is limited. 

Many of the families I have passed on the streets living in filth and squalor came from villages where they had a livelihood, a business, a home. Through circumstances whether it be failure of crops, devastation by natural disaster or whatever reason they had the option to starve or come to a city to beg and survive. Starting on the outskirts of the train stations, they edge their way closer to the platforms, sending their children to pester the passengers for a rupee or two. Moving to the streets, a better place to beg, more people, more chances of a rupee or two, scores of little urchins each one pestering a western face like mine, slipping little hands into mine and gesturing with closed fingers from mouth to tummy, “Uncle please, uncle please”. Make eye contact and you are gone. Walk on in an ignoring way and feel like a cold hearted creep. 

Sometimes I break the rules slipping some money into those little fingers or the crippled ones who beg in abundance or the mother with the emaciated baby on her hip. The little ones who have parents or a relative to care for them have some chance, but for those abandoned or discarded because of a disability or just plain neglect need support and a chance, that’s where we, you and I come into the picture. Bekind Ireland will continue to support the existing charities and organisations that give the street children of Calcutta a chance. Ireland may be in recession but we won’t starve, they will. 

In the afternoon the five of us would meet and travel to Daya Dan an orphanage for both boys and girls with severe mental and physical conditions. My doubts about the group’s ability to cope were unfounded and each enthusiastically met the challenges daily. 

We had met with the ageing but equally enthusiastic Jesuit Fr. Karl Dinchar originally from Pennsylvania now in his 54th year in India. He was to inform us of the terrible atrocities in Orissa, south of Calcutta, where massacres had taken place against the Christian communities, churches and homes burnt, people driven from their homes and the rape of one of the sisters of charity and the death of a priest. 

We met Donegal woman Sister Nimala Marie, who arranged a visit to the leper colony in Titagarh for us. Sr. Nimala had also been responsible for making all the original arrangements for Mother Teresa’s visits to Ireland. 

We met Maureen Forest and her sister Jenny spending a day visiting the dedicated homes and centres run by the Hope Foundation.        

      

A visit to a slum area where approximately eight thousand people live in the area of a football pitch was a true experience that none of us will ever forget.

We decided to donate by equipping the kitchen in the women’s centre, which opened in December last year. A frantic but worthwhile shopping spree ensued. Cooker, fridge, microwave, water purifier, pots, pans, crockery, cutlery etc all bought and paid for including delivery for just €800. I think this demonstrates the value of your support and again the vulnerable given a chance. 

Some of the funds given to a very special NGO will go towards medical bills, surgery and special treatment for a 19-year-old named Sagur. He was badly beaten in one of the train stations by the authorities, beaten so badly he suffered a dislocated shoulder and ligament damage to his right arm. Sagur is currently the youngest person in Kalighat, the home for the dying and destitute, where he is making a slow recovery, tended to by volunteers and the Missionary of Charity Sisters. We were to witness his appalling injuries and the scars on his back from the trashing he received. He has a chance. This year we have doubled the number of children we sponsor in the Hope foundation from 3 to 6 at an annual cost of €1500. 

The sale of the book Larger than life@ God .com by Fr. Vincent Travers, took place at the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, Laurel Lodge at the end of February and raised over €1700. The proceeds were donated to Bekind at Fr. Travers’ request . This is another testament to the support we continue to receive from the parish.  

We would like to thank all those who have given their time and effort to Bekind. Your support means so much to us and of course to the people of Calcutta that will benefit from your generosity.