Like everybody around the world, we will be glad to see the back of 2021. The year will be etched in the memory for mostly the wrong reasons.
It has been quite a year!
The second wave of Covid-19 hit Kolkata hard in the Summer, with many of us losing friends and family to the virus. But in its wake, we have found new energy and new, more effective, ways of working at Calcutta Rescue. We are helping tens of thousands of people affected by the pandemic feed their families as well as launching innovative projects to improve the standard of education we provide and to foster gender equality among our students and the communities we serve.
At the same time, the Covid vaccination programme here has ramped-up and we have managed to get most of our beneficiaries protected – as well as vaccinating hundreds of vulnerable people against a dozen other diseases.
Schools have finally reopened, we were able to celebrate Durga Puja and Diwali normally this year, and life on the city’s bustling streets has largely returned to normal.
Who knows what the future holds, but for now we want to share with you just a few of the many positive stories from recent months that are worth celebrating.
With Christmas just a few weeks away we wish you and your family a wonderful festive season.
Stay safe and thank you for all your support this year. You are amazing – we couldn’t do any of this without you!
2021
November
In an effort to find jobs for some of those who have lost them during the pandemic we have converted our fair trade handicrafts project into a training centre. We are now training up a second batch of students in tailoring and embroidery.
October
On the education front our teachers have done an amazing job supporting students this year despite our schools being closed for most of that time.
They have been going out in our new Education on Wheels minibuses to engage youngsters in the slums and worked extremely hard to support students via their mobile phones – many of which have been provided by Calcutta Rescue in recent months.
This has all paid off with very few drop-outs, compared to a horrendous drop-out rate in Government schools, and an excellent set of exam results.
Thirty of Calcutta Rescue’s senior students have been employed part-time, registering families to benefit from the programme.
We were also named as a runner-up in the School that Cares category at this year’s Telegraph Education Awards.
September
The main knock-on effect of the pandemic has been on people’s ability to earn money and it has been estimated that it has pushed 230 million people in India back into poverty.
So Calcutta Rescue has stepped up its supplementary feeding programme this year, providing food for more than 20,000 people thanks to funding from last year’s Kolkata Covid Challenge appeal and support from companies in India.
We were also chosen by Citibank to coordinate its Covid-relief food distribution efforts across Kolkata.
So we are now working with NGO the Jungle Crows and other partner organisations to deliver food aid to 250,000 people across the city.
July
Getting staff and beneficiaries vaccinated against Covid as soon as possible has been a huge priority. We identified organisations that were prepared to carry out mass vaccinations of our beneficiaries and we were able to get many hundreds of people vaccinated in this way. Read here.
We have also been encouraging everyone to get vaccinated for free now that the government vaccination programme has ramped-up.
Because the pandemic led to many vulnerable people, young and old, not getting vaccinated against a host of other dangerous diseases, our medical teams have been working hard this year to give them this protection.
However many staff and members of the Governing Council lost family members and friends during this very difficult period.
June
We trained up our team of community health workers to use blood oxygen monitors and deployed them in their slums to help identify those with Covid symptoms every day and ensure they got the treatment they needed. Read here.
We were also able to set up quarantine areas in some slums where people could isolate without spreading the virus and linked up with a charity providing food for those who needed to self-isolate.
Partly as a result of these measures, and also because most people in the slums had already been exposed to the virus during the first wave, very few of our beneficiaries became seriously ill.
May
When it became clear that a second wave of Covid-19 was going to hit Kolkata hard in the summer, we formed a quick reaction team to provide round-the-clock support for those who became seriously ill.
This involved ensuring equipment for measuring blood oxygen levels was available to beneficiaries who caught the virus and that the small number of oxygen cylinders we have were kept refilled and went to those most in need.
The team also used its extensive network of contacts in hospitals to try and ensure that seriously ill patients were admitted for treatment. You can read more here.
Support groups in the UK and US worked hard to fly out medical supplies to us and we are particularly grateful for the large donations from Direct Relief in the US.
April
India is now experiencing over 350,000 new cases a day – 3.5x last year’s peak, with deaths 2.5x last year’s daily peak. It appears the peak in May is going to see numbers that are hard to digest. Already two staff members have fallen ill and Calcutta Rescue is fighting to support its member of the staff and beneficiaries. Read more about this in CEO Jaydeep’s update on the Second Wave.
March
Schools in Kolkata and West Bengal reopened from Friday February 12 amid strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocol mandated by the Centre and the State Governments. With staggered and shorter class hours, frequent sanitisation, the classes only resumed for 9th to 12th standard students, in view of their board exams though the attendance is not mandatory for the students. Read more about this.
February
It has been exactly one year since the first Covid case was reported in India and Calcutta Rescue is building a strong proactive defense against the virus this month with vaccination and awareness campaigns:
72 Calcutta Rescue staff get their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine. While at the moment only staff members get vaccinated Calcutta Rescue is also vouching for patients over age 50 and with vulnerable diseases to get vaccinated. Read more
Ananya Chatterjee, the Head of the Education at Calcutta Rescue realized that the school children are very motivated to help spread awareness about the virus. There are even quiz competitions where people can win masks and hand sanitizers. Read more
January
It has been a long and difficult year of everyone and Calcutta Rescue strongly acknowledges that even with safety protocols the staff is still at risk. That’s why the staff has taken out a Covid insurance policy covering all its staff. Read more
2020
December
It becomes very clear that the virus is here to stay and Calcutta Rescue works on long-term plans for all our beneficiaries.
This has initiated the Education on wheels program, where the school is going to the children. Read more about this education program.
Another big side-effect of the schools being closed is that one good meal per day is not guaranteed for the school children. Read more about how this is addressed.
Disproportionately affected by the school closure are our disabled children. Calcutta Rescue now offers online speech therapy, dancing and singing classes. Read more about how the kids react to this change.
November
Worldwide promising news about Covid vaccination are in the media, nevertheless an important measure against the spread of the virus are influenza vaccines: They do not prevent covid transmissions per se, but especially for high risk patients, it can prevent a hospital admission, where they are at greater risk to contract the coronavirus or any other disease. Read more to whom and why Calcutta Rescue is giving the flu vaccine.
October
The street medicine ambulance is back in the slums. Almost six months after their last visit the team is operating with extensive safety protocols but is finally able to do family health screenings and allow people who need medical care to see a doctor. Read more about how screening visits work and what Debu in charge of the project has to say.
“The COVID situation here in West Bengal has worsened dramatically in the past two months and the number of daily cases continues to rise, with over half in and around Kolkata.” Dr. Ghosh and her medical team are constantly working to develop clear policies and guidelines to protect Calcutta Rescues’ patients and staff. Read more on how they are currently operating.
August
Schools in Kolkata have been closed for months. This dramatically hurts the education of our 650 youngsters. With the prospect of the schools remaining closed at least until the end of the year, students are now being provided with smartphones and data plans to benefit from online teaching offered by Calcutta Rescue teachers. Read more about this project.
This and many other projects are financed by money donated at the Kolkata Covid Challenge.
Throughout the day people were walking, alone or in small groups, near where they lived in Australia, South Africa, Canada, the USA and many European countries. Hundreds of people generously sponsored the walkers and thousands watched a two-hour live broadcast by the charity’s chief executive Jaydeep Chakraborty. Read more about this initiative and the 17 projects it is financing.
July
Sad news is reaching us this month: Uttara, who was a helper at Tala Park School died after a covid infection. Uttara left behind three children. Her younger son, Bidyut, is in his last year at university and has been supported by Calcutta Rescue since he began school. The support for Uttara’s family will continue with the staff benevolent fund which was set up at the start of the pandemic by founder Dr. Jack. Read more about the fund and news from Dr. Jack.
June
The wound-dressing room in Nimtala clinic is finally finished. It has been fitted with all the necessary equipment to assist the highly-skilled staff who do the dressings. Read more about how Nimtala operates during the pandemic. 
May
On the 50th day of the nationwide lock-down Calcutta Rescue’s strategy against corona is in full swing this month!
Doctors are constantly working to make sure patients receive their medication on time. “I closed the clinic and went to the slum area with my colleague with our Calcutta Rescue vehicle. The area that was barricaded, the family members of the patients stood on one side of the barricade and we delivered the medicines to them from the other side.” Read about Babita’s experience and her tuberculosis patients.
We started with only 90 WhatsApp connections but presently we are connected with 270 students via WhatsApp and the rest over phone-calls. Students with weak reading and spelling receive extended support. Additionally dry rations for the tala park school students who live in a high contamination zone are delivered. Read more in the report by Ananya Chatterjee, the administrator of Calcutta Rescue education centres.
Students of Calcutta Rescue education centres are stuck into their homes, unable to meet their friends and play as they used to do. And as if the stress is not enough, this period has seen countless women & children living in situations of domestic violence, the lockdown fails to ensure their safety. Read more about what Suchandra Chatterjee, social worker and counsellor at Calcutta Rescue, has to say about mental health.
April
The charity is fully committed and working as hard as it can this week to get food and drugs out to hundreds of poor people trapped in the slums by a three-week lockdown without the medicine they need and with no money to buy food.
Read the full report by Chief Executive Jaydeep, many videos and pictures are enclosed.
March
The first case of Covid-19 was recorded in India on 30 January. When the Calcutta Rescue team drafted its first Covid-19 internal guideline in the 1st week of March, the number had risen to 30. In the two weeks since, and especially in the last few days, cases have accelerated at an alarming rate. The first cases in West Bengal, and Kolkata were detected on March 18. Calcutta Rescue is worried but is working hard to continue bringing support to all beneficiaries while keeping the staff safe.
