On 2nd and 3rd April 2022 representatives from “Kolkata Gives” came to visit Mukti Gram, Purba Sridharpur, at Mukti’s invitation. They traveled to all Mukti project sites on a two-day visit and held discussions with the villagers and the people associated with Mukti.
On the morning of 2nd April, Saturday, Mr. Pawan Agarwal, Mr. Mahesh Pansari, and Mr. Karan Goenka of Kolkata Gives were cordially received by the Founder-President of Mukti Mr. Sankar Halder, and other Mukti volunteers and staff, at Mukti Gram.
They inaugurated the submersible pump for safe drinking water at Samiti House and praised Mukti’s Safe Drinking Water Initiative. After conversing with the villagers they realized the drinking water crisis of that area and immediately passed the approval of making 5 more foundations similar to this model in Purba Sridharpur.
They also met with 30 housing beneficiaries and the masons working for the housing project. In the afternoon they visited some more of the housing project beneficiaries, such as Mr. Ashok Mondal, Mr. Harisadhan Mondal, Ms. Deepali Bhandari etc. In the evening they took a boat trip on the river to visit the world-famous mangrove forests of the Sundarbans.
On 3rd April, Sunday, they interacted with the students, teachers and parents of Mukti support school (MSS) and Kishalaya Schools from 8 am to12 pm. 150 students of Purba Sridharpur MSS, 50 teachers, 4 MSS coordinators and several parents came eagerly to meet and discuss with them. They advised that the qualification of the teachers and quality of teaching techniques must not be compromised. To improve the quality of teaching and to enhance the knowledge of the teachers, Mukti must conduct teachers’ training programs regularly. They also suggested that, like the model houses, thatched roofs should be made below the tin roofs of all the MSSs.
At around 11:30 am, they visited Debashree Baidya Kishalaya School to meet 15 students, 6 teachers, 1 supervisor and 12 parents. They expressed satisfaction with the interactions. Four Mukti Working Committee members accompanied them during their visit to these educational institutions.
In the afternoon they went to see the mangrove forest, vetiver plantation site, roadside coconut plantation, dragon fruit plantation, the river boundary and the mangrove nursery.
After visiting the plantations, they met with the MCDF (Mukti Community Development Fund) members. The meeting was held at “Kopat Briddhassrom” from 3 pm to 3:30 pm. 4-5 central committee members and 5-6 Mukti staff associated with the VOICE project along with 12 MCDF entrepreneurs attended the meeting. The main discussion was about what can be done to increase membership and how to create links to the market for MCDF products.
The Kolkata Gives members thanked Mukti for the warm hospitality they received during their stay. They expressed overwhelming appreciation of the activities of Mukti. Promising to come back again, they set out for Kolkata.
Mukti expresses sincere thanks to “Kolkata Gives” for visiting Mukti project sites at Mukti Gram, for realizing the problems of the villagers and for providing help and assurance of solutions. Mukti hopes that in the future they will again visit Mukti Gram and enrich Mukti and the villagers with their companionship.
Gallery Link: http://localhost/mukti-old/gallery/album/representatives-of-kolkata-gives-visited-mukti-gram