Tag: Pappu

shuktara

Rubel reunited with his family

Posted on by shuktara

Pappu took Rubel yesterday (30th July) to be reunited with his parents who have been found. They had filed a missing person report when he went missing and Rubel was in the system.

They are now heading back over 300km to his home in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, close to the Bangladesh border where he is one of six boys. His father works as a labourer in the fields as a daily wage earner.

Everyone at shuktara will miss Rubel and his infectious laugh.

Puja in front of the newly painted Lula Bari wall

Painting Lula Bari Pink

Posted on by shuktara

We’ve only just begun…
As you know our friends at Kolkata International Women’s Club sponsored the painting and decoration of the ground floor of Lula Bari. Photo opposite shows Puja sitting in front of the newly painted pink wall.

Pappu has hired a team who will start work on the roof. This is to make it clean, strong and damp proof before the monsoon hits.

Then they will start painting the stairwell down to the first floor where all the girls sleep. When that is finished they will also paint the stairwell down to the ground floor, including all windows, frames and doors on the first floor itself.

Helena Christensen was very excited by the opportunity to help paint the rest of the house in hot pink, so the continuation of this work is being supported by Helena and Camilla Stærk – through a percentage of sales from their Pawn Shop, STÆRK & CHRISTENSEN.

We’re very grateful to Helena and Camilla to have given this wonderful gift of renovating Lula Bari and will post photos when the work is completed.

shuktara homes for disabled people

Lula Bari goes pink

Posted on by shuktara

Kolkata International Women’s Club (KIWC) has been very supportive of the girls in Lula Bari. At the end of March they sponsored the painting of the ground floor of Lula Bari and chose a very shuktara colour – pink!

Members of KIWC Nikita and Caroline came to Lula Bari to see the finished job. We think it looks amazing and really highlights the handmade stitching samplers done by our girls. Thank you KIWC!

shuktara home for young people with disabilities

Aakash assessment at REACH

Posted on by shuktara

Over the years most of our young people have attended REACH school. Pappu took Aakash to REACH for his assessment and as you can see from the photo below in the car he could hardly contain his excitement. He completely won them over not only with his ability to put vegetable pieces in the right place but also with his winning smile.

Aakash starts school next week - for the first time ever! We couldn't be more proud of him.

To read more about Aakash please click here.

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Happy birthday Pappu!

Posted on by shuktara

shuktara homes for young people with disabilitiesIf you know shuktara you probably know Nagendra Kumar Mishra aka Pappu. If you don't, you should. Pappu's official title is Chairman of shuktara but he is so much more.

When shuktara started in Jubilee Park Pappu was finishing university and lived next to our home. Everyone in the neighbourhood was curious about shuktara and Pappu was no exception. Eventually we hired him as a tutor because he just seemed to fit in so well with our shuktara family.

Over the years Pappu became more and more involved with shuktara. He lived in the shuktara home, going to his own house rarely. He learned how to communicate with the deaf boys using sign. All of the young people at shuktara consider him their father. No matter how busy he may be he always has time to talk when someone needs him. His calm presence and infinite patience has made the shuktara house a real home, where everyone feels comfortable and safe.

In the photos below it's obvious that Pappu cares deeply about all of the young people at shuktara, and it's clear that everyone in both homes absolutely adores him.

Today is Pappu's birthday. We can never thank him enough for all that he does for shuktara however we would like to say...
Happy Birthday Pappu from all of us at shuktara!

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Getting ready for Kali

Posted on by shuktara

In West Bengal we are very lucky because we celebrate two festivals of light - first Kali Puja (dedicated to the goddess of Kolkata, Kali) and on the following night, Diwali (Hindu New Year).

On both nights pradeep (shallow clay vessels with oil) and candles are placed all around the house. The short videos and photos below show preparations for lighting up the house on Kali Puja.

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Durga Puja – visiting the pandals

Posted on by shuktara

If you follow shuktara you know that Durga Puja is the biggest festival of the year in Kolkata. All over the city elaborate handmade pandals are created to house clay statues of the goddess Durga and her family who come down once a year from their heavenly abode for a five day holiday.

This year the young people of shuktara visited the pandals on the 1st day of Pujas which was Shashti and 3rd day which was Ashtami. Everyone dressed up in their new clothes, piled in the cars and went pandal-hopping.

(thank you Raegan Hodge for all the fabulous photos!)

shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

Shuktara documentary update

Posted on by shuktara

In October Phoebe Brown and the film crew from Atlanta will be headed back to Kolkata to continue shooting the new documentary. From Phoebe's GoFundMe page:

"As I've been working on this edit - I had the chance to pull up some great field photos and was reminded again (as if I needed reminding!) how special everyone at shuktara is. I want to give a special shout out to Pappu - whose spirit just shines in these images. Not only is he just a genuinely wonderful human being, but he puts up with our 1 million questions, translates both Bengali and sign language, helps us lug gear, gets us places we need to go....all while making sure the day to day of running shuktara is smooth. I hate that we have to work you overtime when we visit but I can't wait to do it again!"

Pappu is an extraordinary and inspiring person - his deep commitment to shuktara is obvious in these photos. To see the latest news about the documentary or to help support this amazing film please click here:

www.gofundme.com/shuktarafilm

19 years of shuktara homes for young people with disabilities

19 years of shuktara!

Posted on by shuktara

On 1 July 1999 shuktara started with just two boys, Anna and Sunil. Our story began in a rented flat on Southern Avenue and then moved to rented houses in Jubilee Park and then Kudghat.

Today there are two homes in Behala, owned by shuktara, where 23 young people live. Ages range from teenagers to young men in their 30s. Coming from institutions or lonely lives without family, shuktara provides everything needed for a healthy, happy and perhaps most important, safe life.

Join with all of us in celebrating 19 years of shuktara - founder David Earp, Pappu (chairman of shuktara in India, guardian, advocate and friend), carers and maashis, and of course all of the young people who have a home for life filled with love and laughter. Thank you for your support, all of this is possible because of you!