Written by DP in 2001.

[ This note is about a site visit conducted
in Kalighat, Kolkata, a red light district
where Asha is supporting Project Cause
also known as Project Street to School at Asha-LA]

History
=====
Deep and I visited the site in January 1995.
Earlier I had been shocked by Kamal Hasan's Tamil movie 
"Mahanadhi" (that portrayed the plight of a 12 year old 
girl kidnapped and thrown into the brothels of Sonagachi;
"how many times a day will you torture me like this?"
groans the young child sadly to the customers, and her
father Kamal gets to hear it ..wincing in pain... it
came across as a call to action against indignity).

While in Kolkata doing site visits for Project Self Reliance (Swanirwar)
and Project Seize the Moment (Shardha Kalyan Bhandar), 
I made it a point to visit Sonagachi and identify a new project.
When I proposed the idea to Deep, he readily agreed.
We wanted to visit the area and see if there was any
way to offer kids who are stuck with a way out of
the vicious cycle that confines them to the streets.

Initial reaction from Deep's uncle and his family,
who were our hosts, was strongly disapproving.
"Sharif people do not go to such places" was the
message we were getting. After several hours of convincing
that we are serious, and several phone calls later, 
we managed to find our way to a team that was
actually doing something about it - we stumbled into Project Cause.
Arup and Swarup, twins, and newly graduated MBA's from
St. Xaviers in International Management,
were attempting to do exceptional humanitarian work.
They had their plan hand written on long sheets. There
was conviction in their voice.

I recall vividly the joyous mood of the children
when they saw these young coordinators visiting their street.
They came running from all over and flung themselves
on to Arup and Swarup. It was pure joy in their faces.

It was also sad to see the mothers of the children
lining up for the sex work business in the evening- something that
reiforces the importance of this project. Arup and Swarup
have great support from these women on the street who
delighted in seeing their kids wear the school uniform
- the best clothes they have - proudly. 

One of the traditions of Asha-LA is that we name all our projects.
It gives a sense of new beginning, encourages greater emotional connection to the work,
and sends a message of hope in a world that is dominated by negative news.

This project was named Project Street to School.
At $3000 per year, we became the largest supporting team then.