Platinum Rating from “Guidestar” – A charity you can trust
Calcutta Rescue was awarded the coveted Platinum rating by “Guidestar”, the respected agency in India that assesses the transparency, financial integrity and several other metrics of performance for charities operating in India. Only 6% of the 300 charities rated by Guidestar have received this highly coveted ranking.
Our financial integrity is reflected in our administration and promotional costs that run only about 10% per year, far lower than most charities in USA or India.
It is our pride and our duty that the money you so generously donate to Calcutta Rescue is not wasted in any way, but is spent on the poorest and destitute of Kolkata, just as you had intended. Most of the donations for Calcutta Rescue comes from individuals like you. We have Support Groups, entirely run by volunteers, in Europe and North America, and dedicated individuals and corporate donors in India.
CR Schools Win “Awards for Excellence” as “The Most Caring in West Bengal”
August, 2018
Calcutta Rescue schools were recognized by West Bengal’s educational elite in the prestigious “Telegraph School Awards for Excellence” as the “The Most Caring School in West Bengal”.
Calcutta Rescue’s founder, Dr Jack Preger, was also inducted into The Telegraph Education Foundation Hall of Fame – a rare honor reserved for the state’s greatest educators. Dr Jack dedicated his award to all those who had helped in his work over so many years.
Our two schools support about 700 children, providing free education, two meals a day, healthcare, transport to and from home, and the chance to develop their social skills through dance, drama, sports, etc. We also provide a wide range of personal support and motivation, a key need for youngsters from poverty- stricken backgrounds.
Ananya Chatterjee, who taught at the prestigious Delhi Public School before taking over Calcutta Rescue’s educational program, said after the ceremony: “When the children were receiving rounds of applause, I got goose-bumps. I know the ins and outs of each of my students, and I know how tough their lives are!”
Triple Awards from Rotary Club of Kolkata
May, 2019
Two of our Class 10 students were awarded scholarships, and Calcutta Rescue was also given a monetary award for its “exemplary work in the field of education”. And three of our tuberculosis patients were also given grants for their medical treatments. The awards were given by the Rotary Club of Kolkata on 21 May, 2019 at Rotary Sadan, the club’s headquarters.
The students are from tenth grade – Samapika Dhali and Lucky Kumari Sharma. Their awards are recognitions of their commitments to education, as exemplified by their excellent school results, in the face of serious adversity at home due to poverty and family illness.
When asked what she will do with the money, Samapika, 14, replied that she will use most of it on her education, but will spend some on her father, who is recovering from a stroke. Lucky’s family also has medical problems – her elder sister contracted tuberculosis and her brother suffered from a burst appendix.
“Both the girls struggle at home,” said School Administrator Ananya Chatterjee, “but still they are consistent in their good academic results. I learn from such students every day.”
Dr Jack named “Philanthropist of the Year” at Asian Awards in London
May 5, 2017
Dr Jack Preger, the founder of Calcutta Rescue, was honored as “Philanthropist of the Year” by the prestigious Asian Award in a star-studded ceremony in London. He is the first living non-Asian to win the award.
The award recognized his extraordinary contributions to helping the poorest of the poor in Kolkata for four decades and, before that, helping refugees in Bangladesh.
During the presentation, the actor and comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar described Dr.Jack as: “truly an outstanding individual who defines the meaning of philanthropy.”
Dr Jack told the audience, which included the cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar (who was awarded “Sportsman of the Year” award), and a host of other celebrities: “This is an incredible honor for me. This award gives my organization, Calcutta Rescue, a prestigious recognition, and that’s a great help for raising funds. It is a great help. In Kolkata, it is really so difficult financially to keep an organization running these days.”
Film on the life of our Founder, Dr Jack, wins awards in Switzerland, Mumbai, Noida and Hyderabad, India
Directed by Swiss photographer and Calcutta Rescue supporter, Benoit Lange, and shot by leading European cinematographer, Camille Cottagnoud, the film “Doctor Jack” was the public’s choice as “Best Film” at the Solothurn Film Festival in Switzerland. The award of £15,500 was donated to Calcutta Rescue.
Earlier, in 2016, the film was awarded as the “Best Documentary” in the 5th International Mumbai Shorts Movie Festival.
The film also got an award in Noida (near Delhi) Film Festival in 2017. The movie continues to receive critical acclaim across India and in March, 2018 it was awarded “The Special Jury Prize” at the Indian World Film Festival in Hyderabad.
The subject of the film, Dr. Jack Preger, was born in Manchester, England in 1930. He studied at Oxford University before becoming a farmer in Wales. Driving his tractor one day, a mysterious voice told him to become a doctor – prompting him to start a degree in medicine at the age of 35. Following a radio appeal, he went out to the newly created Bangladesh where he established a 90-bed clinic for war refugees. But he was deported in 1979 after exposing a child-smuggling ring.
He flew to Calcutta, where he began providing free medical care to throngs of people living on the streets in abject poverty. Alone at first, and with very little money, he opened his medical bag and started treating patients on the pavement under a flyover.
Over time, people who saw the vital work he was doing, stopped to offer him money and help. Despite repeated challenges, from crime bosses to hostile bureaucrats who forced him to fight repeated legal battles, even throwing him in jail at one point, he set up the Charity, Calcutta Rescue, and established a series of street clinics and schools. These have helped more than half a million people over four decades.
A copy of the film, with English subtitle, can be purchased from Calcutta Rescue.
The Special Winter Olympics Gold Medalist was once a CR Patient
Rabiul Gazi has come a long way since he first arrived at a Calcutta Rescue clinic at age 5, suffering from seizures, learning disorder and hyperactivity. Nine years on, he helped India win in floor-ball (a type of indoor hockey) at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.
Rabiul‘s family is extremely poor and his health problems was a big burden for the family. But Calcutta Rescue was there to help. With right drugs, his condition improved, and he finally stopped having seizures.
From his young age, Rabiul loved sport and won a number of local competitions. Finally, he was selected to compete in state level special games. He proved to be so good that he was selected for the national squad for the bi-annual Special Olympics World Winter Games. The Indian team – Rabiul and his 5 team members defeated Mexico, Indonesia and Sri Lanka to reach the final, where they beat Nigeria to win the gold medal.
Rabiul never thought that he could achieve so much in his life. He frequently expresses his gratitude to Calcutta Rescue and, of course, his mother who has been his biggest inspiration.
A 16-year old “Born Fighter” wins award for Sports
Priya Patra, the student of our Tala Park Education Centre, lives in one of the most vulnerable areas in Kolkata. But against all odds, she is a model student as well as a medal-winning kickboxer.
This 19-years-old girl was awarded the Ronald Robertson Memorial Scholarship and certificate of The Adamas University Award for Outstanding Talent in Sports in October, 2019.
Calcutta Rescue was the Joint Winner of the “Best NGO of Medium Size” in 2009
This competitive award is based on performance evaluation on several metrics and was given by the Resource Alliance and the Rockefeller Foundation