Emergency Food and Medicine for Kolkata's Poorest

Since the beginning of January Tiljala SHED's generous donors have enabled us to provide a nutritious meal to 450 people in one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in Kolkata.

The Topsia community is a ramshackle collection of shelters and huts perched beside one of Kolkata's nullahs (a polluted drainage canal).  The residents are mostly illiterate manual workers, rickshaw pullers and small traders who live a precarious life on the povetry line.  The children are vulnerable to abuse, crime, malnutrition and disease. The population totalling 1500 families share just two drinking water taps. And the water flows just twice a day.

But every Saturday, thanks to your generosity, the most vulnerable members of this community gather at Tiljala SHED's small community centre to receive your gift of a nutritious lunch.  This is a happy occasion when these families can look forward to a proper meal but also to a reminder that they are not forgotten.

Amna is over 80 years old.  She isn't sure of her age but she does know she is the oldest in the community.  She has no family and depends on the kindness of her neighbours.  Every Saturday, supported on the arm of one of the local lads, she makes her way to collect her lunch. Amna is well known to Tiljala SHED and we ensure that her health is monitored and that she is always on the list for the Saturday lunch.  

Thank you for your generous contribution.  We still need more funds so please tell your friends and family about us.