2005 Site Visit Report, ISW-Khidderpore and Barasat, 

Project Steward-Aveek Majumdar

While involved in a significant capacity before, I only managed to do a brief site visit this year due to a short stay.

Location: Khidderpore

Report: Improvement continues at Khidderpore.  The continued support of Asha is allowing ISW to more effectively pursue its social work in the area.  Several positive points:

- The number of students has increased significantly; there are over 50 who attend with relatively regular frequency (up from about 30 earlier).
- The focus on bringing the community on board to support the education has helped, leading to a lower dropout rate (which can explain the increase in students).
- More students are using the ISW center as a place for supplemental education and attending some formal/government schools where some level of teaching is actually taking place.
- I was surprised at the progress made for girls' education, specifically as they enter their teens:  One girl took the matriculation exam this year and passed!  Two more are slated to take it next year, and the teachers are confident they will both be in the school until that happens.  This has even become a point of negotiation/discussion in the communication between the parties of the marriage!  This is increasingly being delivered as something that the soon-to-be or new bride must be allowed to finish.  Some incentives have been put in place as parents feel like the daughter is accomplishing something that they never did.  Needless to say, this is a significant and positive development.

Location: Barasat, a rural and impoverished suburb of Kolkata

Report: I visited this site after a Jeep ride.  I attended the day when they were having a workshop and outdoors, so I only had a chance to see the younger children (classes 1-3?) being taught.  This is a formal school setup (as opposed to Khidderpore's informal education center), so there are well-established procedures, routines, and curricula the students must follow.  I was impressed with the level of enthusiasm amongst the students and teachers.  I noted new (and small) chairs/desks for the younger children.  This was donated by a German social worker.  This is positive, as ISW has continued to actively seek support from multiple sources.  The components of the budget that Asha supports were present.  

Overall, my general impression with both project sites is that the partnership has yielded a transformation at ISW and can be considered one of Asha-Cornell's biggest successes.  I think the model of establishing a relationship with a project and playing an active role and developing an interest in the project's continued growth has been successful in this case.  Consideration should be made even for future projects with proposals for one-time improvements, a relationship should be developed that allows for Asha to play some role with regular follow-up and support in the future.