Mukti and ASFHM Meeting at Paschim Medinipur

After the meeting with the ASFHM group of Purba Medinipur on the 28th, Mukti officials reached Paschim Medinipur  at 7:45 pm. Mr. Bhopal Prasad Charkaborty, the secretary of ASFHM of Paschim Medinipur and the ASFHM group members welcomed them at District Council Rest House. At tea time Mukti officials started confabulating with the ASFHM members about stories of the Sundarbans region, women’s work and more. ASFHM members entertained with song and poetry.

The next day, on 29^th August 2021, Sunday the program started at 9 am in the Jagadish Chandra Das auditorium of  Vidyasagar Vidyapith Balika Vidyalaya. The inauguration song was performed at 10 am by the president of ASFHM, Paschim Medinipur, headmistress of the school and other headmasters and headmistresses. 120 headmasters and headmistresses of ASFHM, Paschim Medinipur attended the program. In the program, Dr.Amitesh Chowdhury was welcomed as the president of the program. Along with him Mukti officials Mr. Sarkar Halder, Mr. Satyajit Roy, Mr. Raghunath Bairagi and Mr. Chandan Maity, Mr, Abdul Waheed, the prompter and the President of the Board of Directors of Vidyasagar Vidyapith Balika Vidyalaya, Mr. Bhopal Prasad Charkaborty, the secretary of ASFHM of Paschim Medinipur, Ms. Swati Bandhopadhay, the headmistress of the school and Mr. Surya Kanti Nanda, the headmaster of Datan school were welcomed with sandalwood, wreaths, scarves, badges, folders, etc. The lamps are lighted and garlands were put on the effigies of Pandit Iswar chandra Vidyasagar and Mr. Jagadish Chandra Das, the founder of the school. One sapling was gifted to all the guests. Then the traditional work of international fame, the paintings of Naya village of Pingla block was gifted to each guest. The students performed traditional Santali dance.

After that, Mr. Bhupal Prasad Chakraborty gave a brief speech on the aims and objectives of the main discussion. He basically conveyed the message of commitment to involve the district headmasters in the work of Mukti. Inaugural Mr. Abdul Waheed said that he is keen to know, understand and prosper in this social work and he is grateful to the entrepreneurs and Mukti officials and Mr. Chandan Maiti for organizing such workshops in his school. This time, Mr. Maiti of the ASFHM spoke in detail about the role of Mukti in empowering women towards self-reliance. He mentioned some works of Mukti. He also discussed the structure of the women’s self-help group, the loan system and the exemplary transparency of Mukti in the bank operating system and urged everyone to get involved in this work.

Later, the founder president of Mukti Mr. Sankar Halder mentioned how his organization is working in various fields including health, education, agriculture, environment, disaster management and said that they want to work in this district for the empowerment of women. From the grassroots level to child marriage, gambling, trafficking in women, women’s self-reliance is needed to prevent such social disorders. They are already working in the Sundarbans area for that purpose with proper training and community development. About 30,000 women have become self-reliant. Mukti wants to go ahead with this work by holding the hands of the headmaster and headmistresses of Paschim Midnapore district.

Mr. Saytajit Ray emphasized skill development and group work. Through PowerPoint presentations, he made the audience understood how the project formation will be adapted over time, the motto of Mukti and highlighted different aspects of the work cultures. Mr. Ray later introduced the idea of Mukti in the context of Rights & Governance and Livelihood & Economic Security.

It was noted that both Mr. Halder and Mr. Ray in their speeches highlighted various schemes and urged women to come forward.

Mr. Raghunath Bairagi then explained what type of difficulties can emerge while working in the real world and suggested how through community development women can overcome hundreds of adversities through uninterrupted inspiration and encouragement. He has given utmost importance to Confidence building. Once women are sincerely involved in these projects, they will succeed. He called upon the headmistresses to play a leading role in empowering these women with dedication and concentration.

Finally, Mukti officials started answering various questions of many enthusiastic social activists participating in the discussion. Many expressed their interest in the empowerment of these women. The discussions became very interesting.

At the end of the meeting, all those present sang “Amar matha nato kore dayo he tomar ” (Bow my head, O Lord). The President of the meeting thanked all those who were present, greeted them and concluded the work of the meeting for the time being for lunch.

Then at 2:30 pm in the second half, Mukti officials sat on the Vidyasagar stage of the school with the delegates to give intensive advice. About 50-60 women were looking for answers to many of their questions of the speech of Mr. Halder. Some were asking questions. Mr. Bairagi was the centerpiece of the group, exchanging views with some of the fieldwork veterans. This discussion lasted until about 4:30 pm.

At the end of the program, Mukti officials visited the house of the aunt of the heroic revolutionary martyr Khudiram of Medinipur, the house of Khudiram in Habibpur where he spent his childhood and adolescence. After visiting many other historical places, they left the city of revolution at 6 pm saying “We took your sincerity and energy full of spirit.”  We will surely win.

Gallery link: http://localhost/mukti-old/gallery/album/mukti-and-asfhm-meeting-at-vidyasagar-vidyapith-girls-high-school-paschim-medinipur