Pragati Pathsala School

Ultadanga, near Kolkata, India

Pragati Pathsala, a primary school for children, was initiated in 2006 with the aim of providing basic education, health care, and nutrition to the poor and destitute children living in the slum near Ultadanga, close to Kolkata. The villagers are menial labor workers with earnings so meager that they typically cannot provide sufficiently for the care and education of their children.

The school was formally started on December 19th, 2006 with the recruitment of two qualified and dedicated teachers. At the onset, 29 children, ages 4 to 12, were admitted to our pathsala (primary school). Starting with the basics, the children are learning to read, write and do simple mathematics. This year, the school room has been refurbished with chairs and tables for the students so that they no longer need to sit on the floor. In addition, books, exercise books, pens, pencils and erasers have been supplied on an ongoing basis.

One of the major barriers to education, however, has been the lack of awareness of healthy and hygienic practices. With the aid of volunteer physicians from the local medical college hospital, a thorough health check up was provided to each student. All of the children and their parents are provided with information on general hygeine with emphasis given to bathing, brushing teeth, wearing clean clothing and hand washing. The students are regularly provided with soap, shampoo, tooth brushes, tooth paste, shoes and clothing. The children receive deworming medicine annually for intestinal worms as well. Additionally, one nutritious meal, as well as a daily multivitamin, is provided to the students every day.   

As they progress in their education we envision enrolling them to local middle school for further studies with our continued coaching and supervision.

US co-ordinator: Sakti Das
Local co-ordinator: Suchismita Sen Chowdhury