The future may be blighted for these young inmates of the Ramakrishna Mission Boys’ Home at Rahara if the Institution is not rescued from debt.
1980 : Dr. Bishnupada Halder, Fellow of the Royal College of Physician emerges as a distinguished Medical man, What is the connetion between the physician and the stray, you may ask. It is the Ramakrishna Mission Boys’ Home at Rahara in Kolkata.
This is an institution that has natured hundreds of orphans and lost or abandoned children since 1944, when it began its generous efforts in a very small way with 37 boys. The boy who became Dr. Bishnupada Halder was one of them.
Today 600 orphan, destitute, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe boys – 6 to 18 years old live here entirely free of charge, 90% of them are fatherless, the mothers perhaps eking out a miserable livelihood, doing menial jobs. In 5% case fathers are seriously sick or disabled or of unsound mind. Some boys have been sent from borstal jails.
But they have something apart from sorrow in common. They are all intelligent, hard-working and serious minded. Given help and opportunities they may all do India proud. In fact some have already given ample evidence of academic brilliance. All who sat for the Madhyamik Examination not only secured First Division Marks, some even secured star marks and there is hope for those with little aptitude for academics as well. They are provided with Vocational Training. But all these need resources.
The fixed per capita monthly Government Grant for each boy per month is Rs. 1600/- and by this meagre amount we have to provide foods, education, clothing, medicine & sick diet, fuel and other expenditures such as electricity, water charges, sanitary, salaries of teachers, cooks and helpers etc. Can a growing child be brought up with this slender amount in these inflationary times ? The monthly expenses to meet even the basic needs of each boy for – food, books, stationery, medicines, clothes exceed the per capita Government Grant by at least Rs. 1400/-. Even these monthly grants are not coming regularly. Sometimes we have to wait 4/5 months for receiving the grants. The actual expenditure for a boy comes to Rs. 3000/- per month.
Thus the Home has been running with a huge amount of deficit which is mounting with years on account of constant rise in prices of all essential commodities. Most of the Income of the Home is used up in meeting the deficits. Implementation of certain important projects for the benefit of the boys are lying withheld due to non-availability of funds. It has also not been possible to make any improvement in the standard of maintenance of the boys although it is urgently necessary.
Does this mean a dead end for the boys ? Just because there is no money ! For the never-say-die-spirit at the Home, the immediate target is to build up a Permanent Fund, the Income from which will enable it to continue its service.
And certainly public generosity has not dried up. This is clear from the declaration of concern from so many who profess to ‘care’. For them, now is the time to demonstrate that they actually do.
We invite the sympathetic attention of all well-wishers of the Boys’ Home to this Appeal. We fervently hope in this matter your valuable help will not be wanting. If for any reason it is not possible for you for the present to render assistance in any other form, kindly help by bringing the above Appeal to the notice of all your friends, relations and other acquaintances, who are sympathetic to our cause. This will indeed be a great service to the Boys’ Home for which we shall remain ever grateful.
Apart from maintaining 600 Orphan, Destitute, Scheduled Tribe boys the Home runs the following Educational Institutions : (i) Junior Basic School, (ii) Junior High School (iii) High School (H.S.), (iv) Industrial Training Centre, (v) Primary Teachers’ Training Institute, (vi) Brahmananda College of Education (B.Ed.), (vii )Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, (viii ) Vocational Training in Carpentry, Tailoring, Printing & Book binding, Electrical Maintenance, Electronics, (ix) Non-Formal School ( x ) Night School, (xi) Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa [ a Primary School for minority community ] . The total roll – strength of all these Institutions are nearly 4200.
As the above Institutions are running under the control and management of the Home, the Boys’ Home has to spare funds according to need for proper improvement of all these Institutions. Mainly the boys of low and middle income group families attend these institutions for their education.
We take this opportunity of inviting you all to come and see for yourselves the activities that are going on at Boys’ Home.
(Swami Jayananda)
Secretary
Cheques / Drafts may kindly be drawn in favour of – Ramakrishna Mission Boys’ Home.
The Boys’ Home is situated on the eastern side of the Khardah Station of the Sealdah-Ranaghat Railway Line. It can also be reached from the B.T. Road by Car, Bus etc. along the Khardah Station Road.
You may send an A/c payee Bank Draft. The Foreign Exchange Dept., Govt. of India has allowed us to receive and encash Foreign Cheque. The FERA rule is to be followed by us.
RICHNESS IN THIS WORLD CAN ONLY BE MEASURED BY THE RICHNESS OF OUR HEART WHICH YOU HAVE.
Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission
P.O. Belur Math, Howrah-711202 West Bengal, India
(+91) 33 2654-1144/1180
Website: www.belurmath.org
Ramakrishna Mission Boys Home
P.O. :Rahara Kolkata - 700 118 West Bengal, India
+91( 33) 2568 - 2850/3219 Secy - 2523-6116 & 7666[d], Mobile - 9903885166
Email: rahara@rkmm.org