Since 2000, India has seen tremendous economic growth, yet it remains one of the poorest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita and is characterized by high economic inequality. The country has a growing middle class and those living in extreme poverty have fallen dramatically in recent decades and are now down to around 10%. Literacy is increasing among young people and stands at just over 90%. Among adults, the corresponding figure is around 75%.

While it is important to rejoice in the bigger picture, where statistics show good progress, this is not what you think of when you walk around the poorer areas of Kolkata. It is the misery and vulnerability of individuals that you see. Children playing among garbage, houses literally built of garbage, people having to carry every drop of water they need during the day from a standpipe where slightly cleaner water is pumped out twice a day. No toilet inside. No kitchen and no fridge so every meal has to be cooked from scratch. And of course no washing machine.

In this environment, IndianChildren works to help children out of poverty by allowing them to attend school. With a limited number of places, we make home visits to assess who is most in need of our help, and it is heartbreaking to have to say no to some children. To be able to work in this environment, you need to learn quickly not to focus on all the children we can’t help, but on those for whom we actually make a huge difference.

Meeting the young people who started with us over 10 years ago is hugely motivating! To realize that their dreams are actually coming true. Talking to Ranjan who went to Bible school and now wants to become a pastor, or Orpita who hopes to start medical school next year, or Nikita who wants to study hotel management, makes you pinch yourself when you know their background. Without the help we were able to provide together, it would never have been possible. They would have continued to work as day laborers, maids, or sorting garbage, just like their parents before them, and their grandparents before them for generations.

Being part of breaking generations of poverty in the lives of children and young people is breathtaking! What is so small to us, means so much to them. So we want to continue to be part of the fight against poverty, and we welcome anyone who wants to join us. Because every child’s life is their whole life, for them.