The main objectives of TCF continue to be the improved status of underprivileged women and children, and youth, and to provide health services to seniors and patients with limited means.
2023 Activity Reports
Report on Existing Activities:
The main objectives of TCF continue to be the improved status of underprivileged women and children, youth, and health services for seniors and patients with limited means.
Activities in India
New Initiatives in 2023
TCF EDUCATION CENTRE was inaugurated on March 30, 2021 in Bolpur. Eighty plus students from age 6 to 16 will benefit from this Centre. The curricula will include school works, arts, dance, marshal arts and sports. All girls soccer team will get regular training from local & regional coaches. The team will compete locally and regionally in different tournaments. An annual sports event will be conducted in nearby field. The Toronto-Calcutta Association, TCF's sister organization will supervise the program and SONDHI, a local NGO will run the Centre.
All students will get an evening meal daily.
TCF is also planning to teach the children and their parents for basic hygiene. The health hygiene pads will be distributed to girls and their mothers. A medical doctor will visit the school every six months for regular health check-up. Hopefully, TCF can find an optometrist and a dentist who can check the students once a year.
TCF KATHAL (JACKFRUIT) PROJECT: TCF has started a new project called Jackfruit Project. Basically, TCF will be distributing a huge number of saplings to the needy people for 4 objectives: Distributed over 600,000 fruit saplings all over West Bengal, India.
1) To help the stunted children by encouraging them to consume kathal either green or ripe for better nutrition. When they consume kathal, they get minerals, vitamins and protein.
2) Villergers can sell excess kathal in the market and earn extra income for their family.
3) When planted in large of numbers of saplings, it would help the environment with green house gas emmissions.
4) During the planting season the project will create the financial transactions for businesses and temporary employment.
Eye Camps:
2023-24: TCF held 27 Eye Camps, 4380 patients attended: Male patients: 1915 and Female patients: 2465 Eyeglasses received: 3308 patients.
During the 2018/2019 winter season, TCF ran a record 40 Eye Camps through various agencies in remote regions of West Bengal—Sunderban, North Bengal, Medinipore etc.—where medical facilities are limited. Eye Camps cater to seniors and people with various eye problems. Free eyeglasses are provided, common eye diseases are treated and serious problems including cataracts are referred to specialists. More than 6,000 patients were treated in these eye clinics, and approximately 5,000 patients were provided with free eyeglasses. These eye camps are sponsored in the name of individuals, their families, and corporate donors for C$ 500=RS.25000 for each camp. Tax receipts are issued for these donations. The sponsors, who attended these camps, witnessed the benefit received by patients first hand from these camps, and the improvement in vision quality observed in the patients treated at these camps. We encourage you to continue to sponsor these camps, as the benefits clearly improve the quality of life of the needy.
Medical Clinics:
The clinics are conducted every month in remote villages surrounding Kolkata (including at our Naktala office) by our sister agency Toronto-Calcutta Association (TCA). Qualified doctors on the payroll of TCA carry out health checks plus diagnostic services for attendees — who are given free medication. Now that the quality of state hospitals has improved, attendance at our clinics is declining. TCA is looking at new areas where our services will be more in demand. TCA is also introducing an eye clinic service twice a week at its Naktala office. Due to the Covid-19 crisis TCA has suspended all medical clinics except Naktala Centre. It will review this acitivity after this pandemic is over.
Vocational Centre for women Uttaran:
The sewing school run by TCA at Boral for training needy women, now has 40 students. Annually the trainees appear for an examination conducted by the Usha Sewing Machine Company. Successful trainees are issued a completion certificate. TCA helps with the materials and the cost of the examination. The students receive assistance exhibiting and marketing their products. Some past alumni of the program have started their own tailoring businesses and have achieved success. The school is relocated to new premises in Boral to reduce the rental expenses.
DAS (Development Action Society):
We are at the halfway point of partnering on a sewing school project in Charishwar village in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. Altogether there are 22 trainees. On completion of their training, the trainees will receive an Artisan card from the Government of India which will facilitate marketing of their products. The project has been visited regularly and is running well. In addition, the women will sit for an examination for professional certification.
Pre-primary school at Ghutiary Sharif/ Higher Education Program at Uddipan & Hotar: The toddlers attending Ghutiary Sharif School are provided with a nutritious breakfast. Some 80 students are now a part of this program. These programs are running well. Under the Uddipan and Hotar programs, the indigent students complete a higher secondary Exam with our assistance. Promising candidates are given coaching classes to prepare and enroll in professional programs like health care, engineering, hotel management etc. A few of them have carved out good career for themselves in these fields. Many of our donors sponsor students to enroll in this field of higher education. Students are provided with snacks during the coaching class.TCF has started a new Coaching Centre in Hotar in southern outskirts of Kolkata. Currently, it has 40 students and it will go up to 80 students 40 girls and 40 boys.TCF has agreed to finance coaching classes for grade 9 to 12 students (Science, Math, & English) at Hotar village through the local Shri Shri Sarada Ramakrishna Ashram (SSSRKA). It is a similar program like Uddipan where 40 girls and 40 boys attend for special coaching classes in English, Science, Mathematics, Spoken English and Computer Training.
Spastic Society of Calcutta: The expansion of this facility has been completed and some funds provided by a donor for the project have been remitted. It will give the disabled clients programs which will improve their livelihood.
Canada:
Our close association with Etobicoke Women’s Habitat continues with the Girlz Space leadership program, which works to build self-esteem and confidence in young girls from broken families. The program has run for over 5 years and is successful. We have also funded a Micro-Enterprise program for women in 2018 and will fund again in 2019.
In a bid to increase our footprint in Canada, the new projects have been approved. A MOU has been entered in conjunction with the Social Planning Council of Peel to create a training program for new immigrant youths—facilitating their integration into the economic and social fabric of Canada. The initial program will run for one year. To start with, around 100 youths are expected to benefit from this program. 2. Discussion continues with Horizon for Youth, a local NGO, to provide financial assistance to their employment program for homeless youth. The program was very successful.
Strategic Planning TCF has been active for over 31 years.
Its campaigns have grown in scope and diversified several times during this period. A strategic planning session was held recently and various committees have been formed to improve TCF activities in all aspects, focusing on the experience gained and the changing environment. One important objective of this exercise is to extend the reach of TCF both in Canada and India. General Observation: All our projects are monitored closely through periodic reporting and visits. On our end, TCF accounts are annually audited. We endeavor to run an efficient organization and it is run entirely by volunteers. We are thankful for your continued support. We do not receive any financial support from the government, and depend on individuals such as you to fund our projects and initiatives. In order to allow us to continue our work in Canada and India, please consider making a financial contribution and/or volunteering your time for our various projects.
TCF has distributed over 300000 saplings to villagers in various districts of West Bengal, India.
There are four reasons why TCF is distributing these kathal saplings to villagers who are either at poverty or below the poverty line:
1) To help the stunted children: When children consumes kathal, they get minerals, vitamins and protein.
2) To help the villagers: Villagers can sell excess kathals and earn extra income.
3) To reduce green house emission: It helps the environment when new trees are planted.
4) To create temporary employment: When saplings are distributed, it creates temporary employment in the areas of transportation, loading and unloading, labour in nurseries, etc.
The Toronto Calcutta Foundation’s (TCF) 10th annual fundraising dinner took place at the Hilton Garden Hotel, raising $40,000. This marks another great success for the charitable organization. Current TCF President Arun Palit began the evening with a few words before passing the microphone on to the emcees for the evening, Saswati Deb, and Sujoy Chatterjee.
The TCF began in 1988 when a group of Torontonians in business, teaching and academia came together to consider ways in helping alleviate poverty and need in Calcutta.
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