MISSION IN INDIA FOR CALCUTTA-RESCUE

History : Calcutta RESCUE has come about through the effort of Dr. Jack Preger
who first started offering free medical treatment to the poor from a pavement
clinic on Middleton Row, Kolkata in 1979.

GENEVIÈVE MARTINOD, WHO STAFF MEMBER WHO VISITED CLINICS AND SCHOOLS FROM 10.12.06 TO 12.01.07.

The profile of the work increased along with the support of international media and several support Groups and Charities without whom Calcutta Rescue would not stand today.

CALCUTTA RESCUE – a brief Introduction: (from W.B.S. Act 1961 Calcutta Rescue is a non governmental organisation operating in Kolkata and rural West Bengal. It is registered under West Bengal Societies Act 1961. It aims to provide free medical care and other benefits to the destitute and socially disadvantaged of these areas regardless of sex, age, caste or religion.

At present the organisation operates four referral outpatient clinics at Tala Park, Chipur; Sealdah and Belgachia. Between them they see approximately 250 to 350 patients a day. Free treatment, nutritional supplements, clothes and hygiene products are given to patients suffering from illnesses such as tuberculosis, leprosy, diabetes, heart disease, thalassemia, malnutrition and trauma etc...

Calcutta Rescue’s outreach project works as a referral service for the clinic and assist with ensuring compliance and providing health education advice at patients’ homes. The outreach also runs preventative health interventions in selected areas. The state and local government have implemented national level interventions against diseases like leprosy, TB, HIV/AIDS etc., and Calcutta Rescue is working as a partner with the state to deliver TB treatment in both an urban and rural
setting and in national initiatives against leprosy and arsenic control.

Besides medical care, CR also has emphasis on education. CR operates two non-formal schools which provide nearly 300 slum children with free education, food and health screening and thus better prospects than their socio-economic condition might otherwise allow. Those children showing promise are given the opportunity to attend formal school, the fees, uniform and books also being provided for free. There are also two vocational training projects, based in two villages south of Calcutta, which teach the rudiments of weaving and produce cloth for patients’ clothes and handicrafts. Finally, there is a handicrafts department which gives training to women, most of whom are ex-patients and would not otherwise have a source of income.

Calcutta Rescue has FCRA registration and is financed mainly by several support groups in Europe, Canada and Australia. The organisation is largely operated by local staff and currently employs around 142 people and adheres to all Statutory Requirements of reporting, accounting, taxation etc...

Having shared for some days the activities conducted by Calcutta Rescue, I would recommend your support . Please pay a visit to the web side :
www.calcuttarescue.org to learn about contributions, volunteering sponsorships and other ways to support the beneficiaries.