Former Southside pupils set up charity

FORMER pupils of a Southside secondary school have established a charity to help educate impoverished children in the slums of an Indian city.

Two years ago, Alan Irwin (21), and seven of his fellow past pupils from Colaiste Eanna in Rathfarnham, set up a charity called Calcutta Connect with the aim of supporting educational projects in the city, which was renamed Kolkata in 2001.

The members of the charity first got a taste for their charitable work by participating in the Coláiste �anna India Immersion Project, which has been running at the school since 2002.

The students continued to raise funds for marginalised young people in the city’s slums after they left school and in 2010 they decided to establish their own charity in order to progress some of the work they had done previously.

Alan told Southside People that the charity has managed to raise between

?¬10,000 and

?¬15,000 each year over the last two years by organising local fundraising events.

He noted that the charity is currently working in conjunction with Children Rights Development Service and Friends of Calcutta, which both help to deliver formal education to over 1,300 children in five schools in Calcutta.

“We decided to help fund the education of approximately 30 children from five schools,

? Alan said.

“We took on all of the pupils, who were in their final two years of class 11 and 12, which is the Irish equivalent of fifth and sixth year.

“They are also the most expensive years and the years that matter in India. For teachers, exams and books it is substantially more expensive than other years. But if you pass those two years you can progress onto college.

“We have also paid to send three bright and gifted boys from a slum in Calcutta called the Harvard Boys, who are exceptionally clever, to English medium school.

“They learn everything through English and they will be well qualified when they graduate from the school.

?

Alan said that the charity’s most recent project has involved helping to install a computer room at a school in one of the poorest slums in Kolkata.

“They have a spare room in the school which was derelict, so we are trying to teach the children some computer skills. We have renovated the room and one of the lads that is over there has built desks and benches and we have sourced computers,

? he added.

“It holds eight computers and we are planning to give the kids a computer class. For the majority of people in India, especially those living in the slums, they might only have access to a computer once a week at an internet café which would cost 20 rupees for half an hour.

?

Anyone who wants to learn more about more about or donate to Calcutta Connect can log onto www.calcuttaconnect.ie. The charity can also be contacted by emailing: [email protected]