I'll Find Out: Trips with the Irish boys to Sabuj Sangha and DAS

The first time I heard that there were 40 Irish youth right here in Calcutta volunteering with various NGOs, I was overwhelmed.
‘Are they taking over?’, my boss asked.
I wondered whether there are 40 Indian youth right now in Calcutta who’re as committed to make a difference in the life of others, and thereby change, in whatever subtle manner, their own lives. Perhaps there are. But I don’t know them yet. I’ll find out.

Founded in 2002 in Ireland, Suas Educational Development is a movement dedicated to supporting quality education in targeted under-resourced communities, with programmes in India, Ireland and Kenya. They are committed to helping individuals fulfill their potential and play meaningful roles in shaping the world. Every summer, Suas recruits a group of 40 dynamic youth as volunteers to different social development bodies in India and Kenya, where they help build educational capacities of schools and teaching centres in under-served communities. I got to know about this wonderful initiative from a friend of a friend of mine. But even before that, Stephen Murphy of Suas, coordinator of the Irish team, found Choice on the internet. He wanted to know how youth leadership programmes function here. I met him and talked about Choice, sharing stories of successes and challenges. I was also eager to know how the Irish youth work, given especially the barrier of language. Stephen suggested that I visit some of the many centres the Irish youth are working at to get a better grasp of what they do, and importantly, how they do it. For me, it was also an opportunity to visit these NGOs and literally the ‘field’ they work in and see what kind of help Choice’s internship programme can extend to them.

On the first day Stephen and Kieran O’Brien, fellow coordinator, accompanied me to three schools run by Sabuj Sangha (www.sabujsangha.org) on way to Port Canning. Each of these centres attracts at least 50 to 60 kids from the locality, and is served by an average of three teachers. Add to that two Irish volunteers who not only work closely with the teachers to enrich their teaching capacity, but also interact directly with the kids. I was genuinely impressed by the way the Irish guys have picked up a lot of basic Bengali words and expression, and there seemed to be no hindrance whatsoever in their direct communication with the children. So, I realized the ‘language barrier’ doesn’t quite exist. Sabuj Sangha is dedicates itself to involve the entire community in the development process. So, it runs micro-finance projects that benefit the parents and even grandparents of the children who come to their schools. I realized that there’re infinite ways of pumping young blood into these initiatives. There’s tremendous scope for internships at Sabuj Sangha. The Irish volunteers are on a time-bound visit. But we Indians are here to stay. Or are we? I’ll find out.

The second day was dedicated to Development Action Society (www.das.co.in). They run similar schools for children, mostly in the underserved suburbs of Calcutta. I was struck by the wonderful discipline the kids maintain in these schools. Thanks to the teachers, who are obviously extremely well-trained. I do not remember being so earnest and so ‘bhodro’ when I was in school. One of the centres we went to was pretty much in the middle of the massive garbage dump near what is popularly called ‘Dhapa’. I was unaware of the thriving community there and it was great to see how the kids take school so seriously. The afternoon was excruciatingly hot and sweaty. But there was no dearth of studiousness. Once again, I was convinced that DAS is a place that young people should come to in order to learn and make a difference.

I see these visits as very important inroads into building lasting connections with two more wonderful organizations here in Calcutta. And moreover, it’s the beginning of a relationship with Suas. There’s a lot that Choice can learn from them. I’ll find out.