The Bose Legacy Foundation (BLF) inspired by the vision of Sarat and Subhas Chandra Bose, is in partnership with CINI to provide scholarships for vulnerable girl students to complete secondary schooling. In doing so, BLF is supporting CINI to ensure that the girls realise their fundamental right to education and take an active part in building a united, just and prosperous India.
I had the good fortune of learning about Dr. Samir Chaudhuri’s work at CINI Kolkata while pursuing my M.Sc. in Food & Nutrition at Vadodara in 1979. I took the first opportunity after my post graduate studies to travel to Kolkata and visit CINI for a week. It was an eye-opener for me. Dr. Chaudhuri and his team’s dedication and passion for the cause of child nutrition were exemplary. Needless to say, we learnt a lot.
Dr. Chaudhuri, affectionately known to my family and work colleagues as ‘Sammy”, didn’t take long to work his magic on an “innocent” from Ireland. After listening attentively to a dissertation on importance of mother and child health care in the first 1,000 days after birth, I readily agreed to provide that to enable CINI, to build a centre at Daulatpur, specifically for the training of mother and child health workers.....
Love and compassion. And then the smell – the smell of life. My experiences with CINI and Samir are characterized by these two words and the smell of humanity. I have travelled the world and told many stories. The story of Samir helped me reset my priorities. It allowed me to focus on what is full and stop dwelling on what is empty. To look at what is there and not what is missing. To understand what we can do for the world through our work, in our own little ways. One step at a time.
CINI has created awareness about the rights of adolescent girls, the importance of girls’ education and the need to maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness. They have encouraged girls to participate in sports. I hope that they continue to work tirelessly like they have done so far in the schools and communities and contribute to the development of our district.
As you enter CINI, you read Tomorrow is too late. The poor have no time The time of their lives runs away fast. Samir has been fighting against time for 50 years, without borders and without rest. By seeing the extraordinary practices and undertakings of CINI and telling these stories in Italy, we have tried to raise awareness. We have promoted the notion that an effective response to poverty cannot only be of an economic nature.
In 1975, I spent two months at CINI when Thakurpukur was surrounded by rice paddies. I saw ten dedicated people of different religions and castes work together. I was amazed to see the impact they made with such little resources. Dr. Chaudhuri taught me that our task as doctors is to believe in a woman’s capacity to be a part of the solution. Her participation is essential to any real change. That a doctor cannot fix every part of a problem.
CINI has never forgotten the role in responding to the needs of the community arising from calamities. This includes among others, the tsunami, the earthquake in Bhuj and Kashmir, the Aila and Amphan Cyclones and COVID pandemic. On all these occasions, I was given the special responsibility of being the team leader. I will never forget the support I received from Daktarbabu who made himself available to us in several ways. CINI worked for the development of the family and the community as a whole using the child as an entry point.
In my ways, CINI has supported communities in riding the life cycles better. It has helped communities become more aware of their rights and to become healthier. It has touched millions of lives. It has provided a platform for dedicated people who have contributed with their resources and expertise and helped CINI reach its present stage of growth. It is important that we keep revisiting our experiences and sharing our learning so that a new generation of practitioners across the country can benefit from them.
Enter your email address
Daulatpur, P.O : Pailan, Via Joka, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, 700104. India
Tel: +91 84204 58926
Email: cini@cinindia.org
Website: cini-india.org
