What we do
Pathchala is an NGO dedicated to helping underprivileged children coming primarily from the streets and areas marked as red light zones in the Kalighat region of Kolkata, India. We work towards the educational, social and emotional needs of children to help them fulfil their potential from early childhood through adolescence. Our key focus areas are as below:
Pathchala is registered under Societies Act number XXVI, bearing number SO102501. We are also registered under sections 12AB and 80G of the Income Tax Act. Recently, Pathchala has also obtained the Unique Corporate ID from the Registrar of Companies, Government of India, thereby enabling us to participate in CSR projects and activities.
Active programs
Career Counselling
This program is aimed at guiding young minds towards fulfilling careers. We offer personalized sessions to help students understand their strengths, explore career options and set realistic goals. Our experienced counselors, who are active in their respective fields, provide educational pathways and skill development tools, thereby empowering students to make informed decisions about their futures.
Healthcare Outreach
Being committed to improving community health and wellbeing, several medical services are organized throughout the year to provide health education and preventive care for the under-served people. One such initiative is the annual eye camp. The focus is on enhancing vision health and includes free vision tests, routine checks and eye wear distribution. Further workshops on eye health and preventive care measures are conducted.
Economic Empowerment
We encourage present and past students to learn various skills which enable them to earn a living as well as enhance their lives. In this endeavor we are supported by the parents of the children and have been able to create beautiful handmade products. One such program is creation of handmade diya lamps which we make every Diwali. This is part of our corporate gifting initiative, which generated revenue for Pathchala thereby helping us become partially self-sustainable financially.
We wish to extend our assistance to many more deserving children and aspire to grow exponentially. But this mammoth task cannot be executed alone and we will be grateful for any patronage received from you. It is with your support that our children will be able to continue their journey towards educational and personal growth.
Pathchala in numbers
An urgent appeal
Since 2005, the address for the students of class 5 to 10 has been 28/2L Nakuleshwar Bhattacharya Lane, Kolkata 26. Recently, in the month of February 2024, the landlord of our school has locked the gate to our rented premises without any prior notice. Due to this the children had to study in the streets outside for several weeks. In this turmoil, we made many rounds to the police station to notify them of our plight and the police have been very sympathetic and supportive of our cause. But the owners are continuing with their unlawful means to harass and torment the children and the teachers by denying them entry to our school. We had managed to obtain a court order 144(2) CrPC from the Magistrate to open the gates and continue the operation of our school. Yet the court order was not honored and all requests and pleadings were turned down with disdain by the owners.
Raising funds
Recently a good Samaritan came to our rescue by offering us temporary use of a terrace for our daily school activities and at present this is where we are operating from.
In this court battle, we have incurred high legal and other operational costs. Since our NGO is largely dependent on donations, the funds are very modest and fixed. Hence we find it difficult to meet day-to-day costs of our school. These children come from the underprivileged section of our society and are in dire need of our help and guidance. Therefore we need to raise sufficient funds to obtain our own accommodation for Pathchala activities.
We earnestly appeal to you to generously contribute towards helping us provide our children with a safe place for learning and developing.
