Celebrations in Geislingen

We traveled on Saturday 17 after a breakfast at Sonnenhof, to Geislingen. It is almost 300 km South of Frankfurt. We had Edith to drive. Edith is so wonderful because, she had the energy to drive the distance without any problem although she is 70 years old. We took about 2.30 minutes to cover the 300 kms. On arrival in the afternoon, we were greeted by Leonie and Bettina and her family. We had a grand celebration at the Gasthof in the evening to celebrate Edith's birthday. It was 11.00 p.m. when we left the hotel. I and Fr. Susai were put up at the apartment of Matthias. We had no time to relax and so went to bed immediately. (Photos below : with little Lukas and in the house of Mrs. Rose)

The Sunday was more relaxed as we had not much things to do. We went for the mass at 8.30 and then we proceeded to Rose's home. The last time I visited Germany Rose was away. I began to admire at the strength of this aged woman who lives alone, and has no children and husband. She owns a large van in which she spends most of her days on the banks of Lake Konstans. She had come this time just to meet me. When I looked around the house, you begin to wonder if it is really a house or a museum. She has cups, plates, wooden art, tables, chairs, carpets .... all being preserved for over 100 to 150 years! And in the house you are left with no space as the tables, windows, doors and every step is decorated with pictures, art and every fine thing you can find. Even some of the wine in her home was more than 100 years old! We had a brunch that day... which meant, we began our breakfast at 10.00 a.m. and it went on till 5.00 p.m. with lots of fun, jokes and laughter. Then we moved to Leonie's home as Evelyn and Peter, with their son Julian were to return to Gengenbach. I and Fr. Susai sent some of our luggages with them. With a piece of pizza for the night, we went to bed early.

Perfect Landing

Life has suddenly changed! We came smoothly from Kolkata to Frankfurt with a very brief stop-over in Dubai. As I expected the EK 547 from Kolkata to Dubai had all its 320 plus seats fully booked. I slept a lot more than I did last year, besides watching some comedies . Fr. Susai kept waking me for meals. One thing I noticed for sure : the services of Emirates Airlines had remained the same; and that made up for the long haul between Dubai and Frankfurt on EK 047. We reached Frankfurt 10 minutes ahead of our scheduled time. The immigration and customs went without any hitch. So, we were out in no time to be welcomed by Evelyn. For the night halt we came to Bad Nauheim where we were greeted by aunt Edith. She lives in a single room apartment all by herself. Our stay was made comfortable by arranging at Hotel Sonnenhof. We were just given keys by aunt Edith, and we did not see any hotel staff until the next morning at the breakfast table. Once we left our luggage at Sonnenhof we decided to go for a walk as the sun was still out at 8.15 p.m. Bad Naueheim is a small little town of about 20,000 people, with natural springs (which gives the name “bad” to be pronounced “baad”), health clubs, restaurants and parks. Aunt Edith took us to the most important spots of this little town : the homes of Bismarck (the iron man of Germany), Elvis Presley (great Rock star), and the Beneke Institute (Beneke was the person who researched on the medicinal qualities of the natural mineral waters (artesian springs) that are found in the area. The springs are well maintained, with Spas, inhalatorium and health clubs surrounding such. The municipality was sprucing up the town for a big Fair to be held in 2010, and so lots of repair works were going on in the town without giving much trouble to the people. As we were walking back Evelyn proposed that we must taste apple wine that is exclusive to the region. And so we stopped on the market and joined large crowds of people enjoying their drinks and dinners at the beginning of the weekend. At a restaurant, the ladies serving us proposed that we have "Flammenkuchen" for the dinner. It was prepared with garlic, onion, lettuce, cheese, butter, tomatoes, bacon etc on the roasted bread specially for us as we were guests! We got back to our hotel rooms at 10.00 p.m. We decided to call it a day as we need to quickly adjust to the time zone change. (Pictures from top: Homes of Elvis Presley, Bismarck, and one of the natural fountains)

Leaving Home

There are too many things that we take for granted.. and then we end with untold misery. The last time I visited Europe, I had the problem with electrical appliances I carried. This time I am better prepared. I am carrying a special switchboard made by electrician Mr. Mrityunjoy (we fondly call him Don). He did it really quick, so that I can have it on time before I leave Raiganj. I purchased a new pair of shoes in Kolkata as my old ones were worn out. Fr. Sarto, the regional forum director, and a friend of mine, (like an elder brother to me) came to the airport, dropped me and left. The formalities at the airport – check-in, emigration and security check—all went smooth. Once ready for departure, I called up my sister and wished her and her family. I made a final visit to the loo. Oh! It was as dirty as ever; no automatic water dispensers, no toilet papers, and was filled with stench. When I came out I saw several disarranged chairs lying in awkward positions. I arranged many of them in order. I began to wonder. There are tens of people working in the airport. Why no one bothers to arrange the chairs and discourage people from disarranging them? Why should the toilets be as bad as they are? Kolkata can not want to an international airport, if it cannot provide minimum standards. In Kolkata, there are lots of people opposing privatization of airports. For once, I wont mind privatization, if it brings better facility and cleanliness in all places. It is time to depart on the longest journey of my life and leave home!

Preparing for a Long Journey!

As I prepare myself for my visit to the Western part of the world, this year it has been really a tougher times with several audits scheduled, projects just taking off, and more projects needed.... it has been a harrowing time for me. Every night I have been hitting the bed, dead-tired, feeling almost, there is no tomorrow! Do the right thing, do it today, do it now. The Community Care Center will have just started off when I return in the middle of June, it would be the beginning of monsoon, the local government body (panchayat) election results would have been announced, and some new staff would have joined, while a few would be in other positions.... still more the new Human Resource Policy of SWI will be in operation. With too many things in mind, I need to get across to things, as just a few more hours are left for me to leave for Kolkata.... the first stage of my journey--mere 400 kilometers that will consume 12 hours of journey! (That is little more than the time I will spend flying from Frankfurt to Seattle!)

Gruppo India Supports High School Education

Gruppo India and Social Welfare Institute have joined together once again for support for the higher education of tribal children in the districts of Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur. The two had supported almost 200 students last year; and this year too, they have come together with a pledge of about 200,000 rupees put together. SWI will match the grants of Gruppo India on a 40:60 basis. Sr. Thankamma SDS will do the scrutiny of the applicants, and the scholarships will be issued in the last week of June 2008.

Care Centre for HIV Patients

People living with HIV will soon have a better place to go-- "Aashar Aalo", a Community Care Center (CCC) for People and Children living with HIV / AIDS. Social Welfare Institute will begin the CCC in Malda town 325 km north of Kolkata. The HIV patients will be able get access to free board and lodge and medical assistance during their stay at the CCC. A counselor and group of nurses and out-reach workers will help them and their families in accessing the Link Anti-Retro-viral Therapy Center at Malda District Hospital and will also help the families and the persons with HIV to live a better and more normal life. Initially there will be 10 beds available, and the place will be used as a short-stay home for the patients.

The CCC will be inaugurated on 1 June 2008, and Fr. Markus Mardi will coordinate the day to day operations. The fund support for the program for the next four years has been approved through an agreement signed between the CBCI Commission for Health and Puthumai A. Nazarene on behalf of the Social Welfare Institute. SWI was finding it very difficult to get a place in Malda for keeping the patients due to stigma and false notions among the people. However, a place has been identified and the recruitment for staff is already being done. Generous people may voluntarily support the cause of the CCC through donations to SWI as we will need more support for initial capital costs in setting up.

Developing Communities in South Dinajpur

With support from Caritas India, Social Welfare Institute is supporting the poor for their development in the District of South Dinajpur. This project is headed by Fr. Herman Kindo and Mr. Jayanta Das. The team did an excellent job-- along with over 20 field workers-- in completing the activities in the last year. The Report of the first year for the period covering July 2007 - March 2008 is available by clicking on the link : Annual Report of ICDP. We thank Fr. Herman and Mr. Jayanta for the hardwork and the excellent job they have done for the benefit and development of the poor. Congrats to the entire team.

Neighboring Diocese Plans for Development

The neighboring Diocese of Darjeeling is planning for the development of the people within its operational area (the Hills of Darjeeling and the State of Sikkim), through an exercise called "Diocesan Perspective Plan". This is being done at Pushpika, in Kalimpong. Anuggyalaya, the official organization of the diocese, led by Fr. Valentine Rai, is organizing the entire program. Priests, religious and many lay persons from the diocese are taking part in the program that is scheduled for 10 -11, April 2008. The Bishop Rt. Rev. Stephen Lepcha, in his Keynote Address mentioned that we must move from the known territories of relief and aid to the till now untouched areas of people's rights and empowerment. The full text is available by clicking on : The Bishop's Address.

Fr. I.P. Sarto, the Director of ABCD, the West Bengal Regional Forum, Mr. Sanjay Rozario, the Regional Manager of W. Bengal region, and Puthumai A. Nazarene, Director, Social Welfare Institute, Raiganj are the external facilitators along with Mr. Roshan, Sr. Sabrina and Fr. Michael from Darjeeling to help in the planning.

Reporting CBDP

The Community Based Disaster Preparedness project supported by Catholic Relief Services and Caritas India for the year April 2007 - March 2008 came to an end on 31 March 2007. The project was headed by Ms. Rekha Soren and Ms. Bimala Baru, with Mr. Subhash Topno, Mr. Ansarul Haque, Mr. Prabir, Mr. Bishwanath Soren and Mr. Kalicharan as field Supervisors and a team of over 30 field workers. The Report for the Month of March 08 is available by clicking on this link. We thank all the Staff associate with the Project during the entire year in order to achieve the objectives of the project.

Minister Inaugurates Disaster Preparedness Project

The Hon'ble Minister In-Charge of Civil Defense, Dr. Sreekumar Mukherjee, inaugurated two Community Based Disaster Preparedness (CBDP) Projects of Social Welfare Institute, Raiganj. At a inaugural function held at the training center of the organization, D.D.C. at Chotparua, the Minister viewed some mock-drills of the Staff before he addressed the gathering of SWI Staff and people gathered for the occasion. He was welcomed by the CBDP Staff and the Sisters at D.D.C, and was led to the dais by dancing tribal girls. Addressing the gathering in the background of a bus tragedy that killed 20 persons just two days ago in Kolkata, the Minister said, "Most deaths at such times take place in the first five minutes itself. That's why every person must be trained to respond to natural calamities and tragic accidents. CBDP programs are meant to build resilience in the communities in order to help them cope with disasters and respond to them correctly when such occur." He was officially welcomed by the Director Puthumai A. Nazarene. Ms. Rekha Soren and Ms. Bimala Baru, the two Coordinators of the CBDP Projects organized the program splendidly. (in the picture : the Hon'ble Minister and Director, SWI, surrounded by the Staff)

The two Community Based Disaster Preparedness projects are being supported by Caritas India, Catholic Relief Services, UNICEF and the Ministry of Civil Defense, Government of West Bengal.