Blog Layout
Slip Sliding Away...
Brian Flanagan • 27 September 2018
Bekind to Kolkata 2017
As I write in late September our summer is really slip sliding away and that autumnal feel surrounds us. Ten years have also slipped away since the formation of Bekind.
With two student volunteer groups picked, one from Castleknock Community College and the other from St. Dominic’s College in Cabra, fundraising began in earnest from late 2016.
This vital income generating process to keep our support for the former street children of Calcutta going can be daunting but is so worthwhile.
For the 19 Transition Year and Fifth Year students, their hard work paid off and after multiple fundraisers they smashed their targets with enthusiasm and lots of energy ready to embark on their adventure to reach out to those in need in Calcutta. A very special thanks to all the parents who made such great efforts in supporting their children in the campaign.
Here is just a sample of the fundraisers undertaken by our wonderful volunteers: Coffee Mornings, Quiz Nights, Bake Sales, Musical Evenings, Mini Marathons, Sponsored Runs and Cycles, The Bekind
Golf Classic sponsored by Paul Tobin Motors, a Sky Dive, a Buzzcut streamed live on Facebook, a student Bekind
Ball, Raffle Ticket Sales, Bag Packing, Church Gate Collections. There were also many generous donations received from relatives and friends.
The student volunteers were to meet and spend lots of quality time with all of our children in Bekind
Boys’ Home and see how their very hard earned fundraising efforts were being spent.
Departing mid-June, we were thankful to have four former Bekind
volunteers from 2015 join us as chaperones and group leaders who had also fundraised.
My wife Martina, son Shane and friend and fellow Bekind
Director Niall Dalton made up the adult team. Without their commitment and dedication these trips would not be possible and I remain eternally grateful.
As always the culture shock hits hard on arrival in Kolkata and despite all the preparation talks in advance, I’m intrigued by the expressions and reactions of our teen groups as they process every new sight and smell in The City of Joy.
Transferred to our usual modest guesthouse, our volunteers were to have their next culture shock and the pleasure of meeting our dear friend Anil who had brought snacks and soft drinks for the weary travellers. Anil, whose reputation in the Calcutta High Court is renowned, never takes no for an answer! Even our most cautious eaters were persuaded to eat the freshly baked samosas!
A little sleep, having procured some extra beds, and it was time to travel and sign up for work in some of Mother Teresa’s homes where our volunteers would spend mornings for the two weeks of their stay.
On then to meet the children they had heard so much about, the 21 Bekind
Boys. Instant bonds formed and the students giving of themselves was natural and lovely to witness. For our four chaperones who had met the boys in 2015 it was a joyous reunion.
Our itinerary included a short break for the group and the Bekind
Boys and staff in a resort outside the city which the children love. It’s called Breathing Earth, aptly named as at least you can take deep breaths here in the countryside unlike down town Calcutta.
Here our very own travelling DJ, Niall Dalton, played lots of great music by the poolside adding to the jovial atmosphere and holiday mood. The kids played soccer and cricket, they ran and swam, they sang and danced till late, they watched movies and had lots of lovely food before collapsing into bed each evening.
Even though the monsoon season had started, nothing was going to dampen our spirits. Even being in the pool during a thunderstorm had its moments!
The stark contrast of those happy carefree days spent with the children and the reality of life for others less fortunate in Calcutta is truly shocking. The Bekind
volunteers were to witness poverty and deal with many destitute people when they worked in several of Mother Teresa’s homes. They were to see first-hand the wonderful work carried out in the Hope Hospital managed by Samiran Mallik for over a decade.
I was deeply moved on several occasions by the compassion of our Irish teens but in particular the day we visited the Leprosy Colony in Titagarh. I had stressed the need to take time there and not rush with the patients. It’s not easy to sit on a bed with someone who has been mutilated by the ravages of leprosy. Those who have no sight, some with missing limbs, weeping wounds and who have been banished from their own village and families, the unwanted, the untouchables, yet it did not stop our volunteers from holding them, embracing them, talking to them and singing songs for them, respecting them with love and real compassion.
"Whatever we touch, we leave fingerprints. As we touch other people's lives, we leave our identity in them. Life is better when you are happy, but life is at its best when others are happy because of you. Be faithful in touching other people's hearts, be an inspiration.
Nothing is more important and worth practicing than being a channel of God's blessing. Nothing in nature lives for itself. Rivers do not drink their own water, trees do not eat their own fruits. The sun does not shine for itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We were all born to help one another. No matter how difficult the situation you find yourself in, still do good to others. At times all they need is your ears or just a smile."
In January 2018 six of our boys aged ten and eleven will leave Bekind
Boys’ Home and move to another home run by Hope Foundation. They will have spent more than half of their young lives with us away from life on the streets. They have had nutrition, protection, education and most importantly a childhood with a little love from us along the way.
When I walked through the slums with Hope Founder, Maureen Forrest, back in 2011 close to the property The Bekind
Boys’ Home occupies, Maureen commented “You will never be short of children for Bekind, Brian”. How true her words were for when our six boys leave next January, six more will take their place and many more wait in hope for that chance of a childhood.
In this newsletter, Founder Director Brian Flanagan shares insights from his latest trip to Kolkata, with a group of students from CCC.
A charity concert of festive favourites in aid of Bekind Ireland
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.
Join our mailing list
Write to us
Bekind
Ireland
33 Woodpark
Castleknock
Dublin D15KP6R
Ireland
Social media
Bekind
(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.