Hello friends, family, and supporters of Prabhat Alloi Foundation.
Lots has been going on over in Dabar Village, and I will endeavor to share some of the updates with you. I'm going to share them in parts to make this newsletter more bite-sized.
Hostel
Pictured from left to right: Shanta (Moni), Badal's father, Subhasis (who has been a lifeline to PAF since Tinku passed), Badal, and Subhasis Bhattacharya (teacher offering guidance).
You would be very happy to note that after "Doctor," Badal is the second student who has cleared the Boards (Standard X) exams. All of us are very happy for his success. Tinku's friend, who is a teacher by profession, acted as his guide for the exams. He took has time out and made sure that Badal wrote his exams well. Badal is a nice boy, a bit serious, and responsible. He acts as a good older brother to the rest of the hostel boys.
Socio-economically, Badal comes from a very poor family and it is a herculean task to convince the family to let Badal continue with his studies instead of starting a job. His father is a very good Chau dancer, the famous acrobatic folk dance of this region. He never made much money and normally his work is as an agriculture laborer, working in rice paddies and things like that. There was alot of pressure, and expectation, for Badal to begin earning.
However, after several weeks of meetings, we are happy to say that Badal's family has agreed to allow him to continue to pursue his studies.
Below, the current boys of the Hostel stand in their new shirts.
Important Visitors!
Nick and Laura became involved with PAF in the early days after its inception. They sent PAF members to Australia to take a course in accounting and management, and they have stayed involved ever since.
After about 8 years they have just made the journey back to India. This allowed them to reconnect with people here, and to see the ongoing projects as well as major improvement to infrastructure since they were last here.
I came out here at the same time in order to help "fill in the gaps" - because those same 8 years are the exact years that I have been spending time here, and I can help to explain the stories behind events and people.
Nick and Laura stand with two of the women living at Nabakustashram, the Leprsoy Village, in the building Nick and Laura built 2 years ago. The previous building, while still standing, is likely to collapse, and this new one is a welcome relief for the 4 women living in it.
Recipes
During my last visit here, Rekha taught me how to cook several Bengali dishes. One of them is called Mangso, and it's a chicken curry. You can find the recipe HERE.
More to come,
Erica
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