"The poor won't come to us, it's up to us to go to them."

Dear friends,

A week after my return from France, I am happy to present this newsletter to you. We talk about our big tour last May and June, visiting France, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium donors, friends and former volunteers of HSP. During these visits, I was able to measure the weight of the wonderful friendships Sabita and Daliya di have developed abroad. I witnessed wonderful reunions after a long time.
At the heart of these friendships: the experience of the mission, the experience of communion at the service of the poorest. This very experience brings us together in the great family of HSP. It is a special grace of our community. This grace means that, even today, meetings blossom into friendships by the simple fact of this shared experience.

As in any growing community, we have been on a path of important reforms for several years, not only because of the departure of our beloved founder.
These reforms are called for by the internal fragilities of HSP. We want to value people and talents and renew the motivations that drive us. We must also respond to the radical changes in Indian society. Here, the fascination with the Western world drives into consumerism an attraction to money and this hardens the hearts.

All these challenges are impressive, but through these friendships, I measure the richness of our community and I renew an appeal to all to support me in my beautiful and heavy task of succeeding Father Laborde.
Let us hope that our friendships grow, as an antidote to this spirit of the world that makes us all strangers to each other. Let us hope that they guide us towards encounters.

It is for this purpose that we launched, last May, with the entire HSP staff, team visits to the slums of Howrah. Any encounter can hurt. But in this wound the heart is enlarged, is touched by compassion and can commit us entirely, each one where we are. Only an authentic encounter with the poor can quench our thirst for communion.

Lots of love

Fr. Laurent +

News

The tour in France and Switzerland

This is the highlight of the quarter.

Six years after the last visit of our late Father Laborde, three Didis and Father Laurent flew out to meet our friends and donors for three weeks on May 20. Before and after, Father Laurent also visited some donors and had some interviews in France, Italy and Belgium.

Daliya di, in charge of the Bakuabary center in Jalpaiguri; Sabita di, HSP's general administrator; and Chintamoni di, in charge of the EPN center in Howrah, took part in this year's trip. The Didis and Father were able to see many friends and visit or revisit Paris, Lyon, Eastern France and Switzerland.

The objectives of this tour are many: firstly, to maintain and deepen the contacts we have in France and Switzerland by meeting the people and organizations that support us, seeing former volunteers and friends and maintaining the precious relationships that have been built up over the years. 

On the other hand, we're trying to raise awareness of the association (interviews, meetings) and collect new donations or at least new contacts by organizing opportunities for people to talk and share their experiences.

We'll tell you more about this incredible tour in an article at the end of the newsletter, with lots of photos. It's worth the look! 

Launch of home visits

As announced in the previous newsletter, HSP wants to get closer to its initial mission of ‘reaching the unreached’. Our fundamental aim is to reach out to the most disadvantaged, the poorest of the poor: those exiled from society.

To achieve this, we have launched ‘Homes Visits’, which involve sending our staff into poor areas (slums, tea gardens, etc.) in teams of 2 to 5 people. The aim is threefold: to enable new admissions among the poorest Indian families; to continue to develop Howrah South Point via word of mouth in poor communities; and to remind HSP why and for whom we work.

We began by working on a poverty report based on the UNESCO report, in order to obtain a grid of criteria that would enable us to assess the poverty of families in an easy and accurate way. The teams were then briefed and we agreed on the poor areas to be visited as a priority.

In Jalpaiguri, teams visited the tea-growing areas around Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar and visited a total of more than a hundred families during the holidays (some already benefiting, others for new admissions). Four disabled boys were admitted to the Mogradangi center as a result of these visits and of these, two will receive surgery or rehabilitation.

In Howrah, we have so far sent around ten teams to the Moukhali and Coal Depo shanty towns and visited almost a hundred families. At least five teams are sent each month. Admissions will be dealt with at a later stage. 

The beautiful story: Swadhin, a child of HSP, is invited to the Olympic Games

In this newsletter we would like to share with you the beautiful story of Swadhin Oraon.

Swadhin was admitted to the Mogradangi center in Jalpaiguri in March 2012 at the age of 5 with a bilateral genu varum deformity. He was admitted with his sister Sibhra Oraon, who was suffering from malnutrition, both of whom were brought up in a very poor household. Genu varum’ is a deviation of the knee that results in an arched deformity of the lower limb. It is commonly referred to as ‘bow legs’.

When he arrived at Mogradangui, Swadhin was very weak, unable to walk or sit up. Little by little, thanks to daily physiotherapy sessions and the treatment of his malformation with adapted prostheses, his physical condition improved.

After 6 months in our center, he was able to move around independently! He was then able to go to the Jordigui center and join classes IV and then V, much to his delight. His ability to concentrate was limited and he thrived more on manual work and sports, particularly football, of which he was a fan. 

After seeing his results in the class VIII exams, his teachers and the Jordigui staff offered him a carpentry course with the Don Bosco association in Calcutta in January 2023. 

It was with Don Bosco that Swadhin was introduced to rugby. He quickly developed a passion for the sport and proved to be a top player! As a result, he was preselected to represent Bengal in rugby 7s under 18s during the ‘Festival 24’. To coincide with the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, the ‘Sport in the city’ association is organizing an international solidarity festival, ‘Festival 24’, from July 19 to 28. Some 500 young people from 36 countries are expected to take part, including Swadhin, who has been chosen to represent rugby in West Bengal, what a pride for HSP!

Summer Camp 

As they do every year during the summer holidays, the physiotherapy, psychotherapy and special school departments at Ashaneer organized a 2-day ‘summer camp’ for children with disabilities attending our centers and their parents. 

It is important for the staff to show parents that they are not alone in having to deal with their child's disability, and that other parents are in the same situation. It is also essential to create a relationship of trust with them and to allow the children to experience activities that are different from their everyday lives.

The program included testimonies, cooperative games, shared meals, fun outdoor activities and time for socializing, all in a joyful and well-humored atmosphere. Many of the parents expressed their gratitude to the staff present, and were delighted to be able to meet and share time together. They even suggested that a winter camp be organized... To be continued!

'After 10': results and extension

The end of May also sees the results of the Madhyamik exam, which marks the end of class X (the equivalent of the brevet) for the young people in our centers. Around twenty of them took the exam last January. After months of waiting, the results are in: we are delighted to announce that 19 of our 21 young people have passed their exams, and we are very proud of our students.

In Jalpaiguri, it's an 8 out of 8 for the Bakuabari and Jordighi centers. The five girls and three boys are continuing their studies with our help and have been admitted to class XI in various schools. Two boys are staying in Jordighi to have a ‘healthy’ environment for their studies, and three girls have been admitted to the Helper Sister Hostel in Bolpur. We are very happy for them.

In Howrah, 11 of our young people passed the exam and are also continuing their studies with the support of our ‘After 10’ program. 10 have been admitted to class XI and 1 boy has chosen to train as a carpenter with the Don Bosco association in Calcutta. Of the two boys who unfortunately did not pass the exam, one plans to work in a garage and study motoring because he is passionate about cars and the other is returning to his home in Asansol.

We'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about the extension of our After 10 project. 

We realized that many young people (especially girls) were keen to continue their studies and benefit from our help, but were faced with a problem: their homes. Many of the young people live in very difficult conditions (insalubrity, violence, etc.), which are not conducive to higher education, which requires calm and a healthy environment.

We have therefore decided to help them and accommodate some of the students in the Pushpa Home building in the Ashaneer center in Howrah. Admissions are open to young girls whose families and living conditions are unsuitable for their studies. The month of June saw the launch of this new project, with three young female students now settled in Ashaneer for a few weeks to attend class 11. The idea is to give them as much autonomy as possible: they can cook on their own in their building, which is really independent from the rest of the hostel, but they can also, if they wish, have their meals with the girls and the Didis at Ashaneer. We would also like to encourage them to make themselves available to the younger children who need help with their homework.

A budget has been drawn up (for electricity, water, food, maintenance, etc.) and two of our friends, Giuliano and Alibaba (who already donate to the ‘After 10’ project) have agreed to cover the costs of this new project for one year. Thanks again to them!

Family, donors and friends of HSP

• There have been a few changes among HSP friends over the last 3 months. We said a sad farewell to Pascale, who returned to France after 2 months in Jalpaiguri. She led many training sessions for our staff to pass on her skills, but she also gave us new ideas for the manufacture of rehabilitation equipment. Many thanks to her for her invaluable presence at our side.

• We also had to say goodbye to Clémence, a dedicated volunteer with SMSC and the Lalkuti center since September 2023. After 8 months with HSP, it was hard to see her go, but of course we wish her all the best for the future. Two months before her departure, her parents, Charlotte and François, came to see her in Howrah, which led to some wonderful moments of exchange and sharing.

• We welcomed two MEP volunteers in Ashaneer who are on a mission with the Kiran association in Benares for a few days. It was an opportunity for them to talk to the volunteers here and find out more about our association.  

• Thank you to our local donors. In particular, BMW donated a number of wheelchairs and enabled some of our children to go and watch a cricket match with our regional team.

• In Bakuabari, the construction of a new water tank and the dismantling of the old one have been completed. Many thanks to Mr. Sandip Bhattacharya for his voluntary support. Also, the new bus donated by TDHA was inaugurated with great joy and is running perfectly well. Thanks again to them!

Events of the quarter

• During the Donors Tour in France, Switzerland and Belgium, Father Laurent was interviewed for broadcasts on RCF, Radio Notre-Dame and KTO. You will find the links below after the quarterly video.

   

• On April 7, World Health Day, the physiotherapy and psychotherapy centers organized conferences and workshops, bringing together parents, educators and children. To mark the occasion, several doctors visited the Mogradangui and Bakuabari centers.

   

• In the unusual category, an impressive rescue took place at Bakuabari. A large python weighing over 2 kg and measuring almost 8 m was rescued by the staff. 

   

• At Asansol, the school continues to welcome around thirty children in Hindi classes during the day, but the hostel is still on stand-by. The good news is that we're well on the way to obtaining our Home License! Stay tuned...

• In Ashaneer, the boys' hostel is very hot (38°C minimum inside). We've tried to bring the temperature down by covering the roof with tarpaulin and earth, but the results are not yet there... Plan B was activated on the advice of a former HSP technician: cover the roof with water. We hope the result will be more convincing.

• Here are some figures about our Save Motherhood and Child Survival project, which supports mothers and babies in the slums. 

  92 beneficiaries have been cared for in Moukhali since the zone opened in September 2023 (against a target of 150). Together with the other zones in Baksara, Lalkhuti and Coal Depo, our total number of mother-and-child duos supported now stands at over 500. In the last 3 months, we have welcomed 28 additional duos.

• Let's go back to our After 10 project and tell you about the young people who have completed their class XII and are continuing their studies.

  At Howrah, 3 girls are enrolling in a ‘cutting and sewing’ course (8 in total), 2 girls are studying administrative data entry, 1 in computer communications and 1 is training to become a beautician. 2 boys are training to repair telephones.

  In Jalpaiguri, 3 are joining courses in automobile and ophthalmic assistance. Two boys have also finished their carpentry studies at Don Bosco and are going to work in the south of India. We wish them all the best for the future. 

   

• May and June are marked by the summer holidays. The children returned to their families for 3 weeks and were very happy to be back together after this summer break. Despite the holidays, these few months were also marked by festivities such as Yoga Day, World Milk Day and celebrations of the icons Rabindranath Tagore and Rabindra Jayanti.

   

• Bakuabari staff organized a feast for the residents of Maria Basti and Jeevanpath (adult men and women with physical and mental disabilities). It was a chance for them to get away from their daily routine and talk to each other.

   

• We regret to announce the death of Deepak, one of HSP's members who worked at Ashaneer as a maintenance officer. We entrust his family to your thoughts and prayers.

Video

HSP in April, May and June

3 questions program on KTO

God’s talents program on RCF

Orient Extrême program - Radio Notre-Dame

Help us promote HSP

A new leaflet presenting HSP and its activities has been produced. If you would like to distribute it in a church, at a conference, an event, etc., don't hesitate to download it here.

Portrait

Ariyan Oraon

Young teenager living in Mogradangi and Jordighi

Born on October 13, 2007, Ariyan was diagnosed with ‘Talipes equinovarus’, a congenital deformity known as ‘clubfoot’. Ariyan's father is a migrant worker and his mother works in the Kumlai tea garden in Jalpaiguri, where they live with Ariyan's two younger sisters.

He was admitted to the Mogradangi home in September 2012, at his parents' request, for treatment. There, he was fitted with a serial plaster cast by the physiotherapy staff. At the same time, he was admitted to Shanti Rani Primary School to attend classes. Ariyan was then admitted to the Jordighi home in 2018 and continued his education in class V. In January 2023, he was operated on by Dr. Matthias Axt at the orthopaedic surgery camp organized by HSP at the Goodricke Group Hospital Chalsa. 

He received post-operative care for four months, followed by AFOs (ankle-foot orthoses) and crutches. Thanks to daily physiotherapy, he was then able to start walking. At the same time, he learnt the basics of computing, drawing, taekwondo and agriculture at the Jordighi home. Ariyan is always willing and happy to help others, and is very active in the home.

He passed the Class X final examination in 2024 with 67% marks and decided to continue his studies and return home. He has been admitted to Mal Adarsh Vidyalaya in class XI in the commerce stream. He travels to school by bicycle and bus.

We are very happy to continue supporting his studies through the ‘After 10’ programme. Thank you to our donors. We wish him all the best for the future !

Thank you all for your support, which is always greatly needed, whether spiritual or financial !

If you would like to help us financially, please note that :

- There are no small donations !

- There is an income tax reduction equal to 66% of the amount paid, up to a limit of 20% of taxable income.

Thank you in advance for your generosity, which will benefit the children, young and old, of HSP.