It wasn’t a mass wedding; it was 81 girls from five CRS centres in Kolkata completing a practical test for their beautician course. Beautician training is offered as part of the women’s empowerment programme. During a year-long course, students learn a range of skills including skin care, make-up, waxing, manicure and pedicure, facial treatments and hair cutting. This year’s batch of students gathered on 16th May for their final evaluation. They had three hours to prepare a friend in bridal attire which included face make-up, sari, jewellery and hair styling. They also had an oral test about things they had learned in their course. Some students go on to set up small beautician parlours in their communities as a way to earn a living.
Author: Karen Laister
A great Bengali birthday
Rabindranath Tagore, the writer, poet, playwright, musician and philosopher, is much beloved by Bengalis. His work greatly influenced Bengali culture in the late 19th and early 20th century and he was the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Bengali people around the world celebrate every year on his birthday anniversary in early May with a cultural festival called Rabindra Jayanti. This year children from the CRS Education Centre at BD Colony celebrated the day by performing some of Tagore’s songs and dances, and reciting select poetry and prose. One of the teachers also gave a talk about his contributions to society and culture.
All sewn up!
Larsen and Toubro, the Indian multinational conglomerate which has been supporting CRS activities for some time, donated three new sewing machines. They were formally handed over at the end of April by a senior member of the company’s HR Department. The machines will be used as part of CRS’s empowerment programme which offers skills training to adolescent girls and women. CRS instructors offer year-long courses in tailoring, embroidery and knitting. The women are also taught financial and business management skills so that they can set up their own small enterprises. Khatiza Begum, an instructor at CRS’s Bibibagan centre, said “I am very excited on receiving the new machine and this is going to help more women to take the tailoring course”.
Pennies make pounds
Naresh and Rashmi Gelani have been faithful supporters of CRS for several years. They are newsagents in Chesterton, Cambridge, and recently added a CRS charity collection box to the counter in their shop. When the box was handed over in early April, the staggering number of coins took 4 hours to count! In just a month they had raised £267. Donations like this from Naresh, Rashmi and their customers make all the difference to what CRS is able to achieve in Kolkata. Thank you!
Health programme gets new wheels
CRS has taken delivery of a new 4×4 vehicle thanks to a generous donation from Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, the leading oil and gas company in India. It will be used as a mobile medical van for the health programme, allowing CRS health teams to visit different locations in both the city and rural areas, and also carry medical supplies to replenish clinics. The vehicle was officially handed over in early April with the Bishop of Kolkata and other members of the CRS Executive Committee in attendance.