We started as early as 9:45 am on 9th july from Sealdah station, some 13 of us , for a place called Manirampur in Dakhin Durgapur. It took us about an hour to reach there. Our destination was a GIA home for underprivileged boys, some 2 kms from the station Dakhin Durgapur. The mucky road that stretched before us was an indescribable mess. Incessant rain had made it so swampy and slippery that it required great diligence to not to slip off the road. It took us about an hour of walk to reach the Home where we were greeted by the in-charge of the place, popularly referred to as Dhruboda. There is also a second in-charge – everyone calls him Dadu ( it's a bengali word used to call an elderly man). This Ramkrishna Sevashram boys Government Home receive aid from the govt. for the job.

We met some members of Praajak and Cry, the two NGO’s helping the home. Pankaj (from CRY) showed us around the place. The home sprawls over a large area which includes a few constructions, serving as quarters for the children and the workers, two big ponds and fields which were turned into veritable marshlands during the monsoons.

The Home supports 50 children between the age of 5 and 21 ,mostly coming from destitute families .We could meet only 33 of them as the rest had gone to visit their parents during the weekend. Their dormitory was a long room containing beds made on cemented slabs, one for each student. Since the Home had no electricity, a few tiles on the roof had been replaced by glass to let the sun in. But notwithstanding the best efforts, enough sun did not get into the room even during daytime. To make matters worse, some parts of the roof leaked during the rains. The authority at the Home , however , plans to build more quarters for the children but construction work had to be stalled halfway due to the monsoons. They have plans for an old age home as well to be built within the campus.

We talked to the children. They were shy at first but gradually opened out. Some even let us have a peek at their exercise books, textbook and chatted about their favourite subjects. I particularly remember a boy of class X11 who was meticulously practicing maths. He scored first division at the Madhyamik examination. He likes all the subjects. He also helps the other children with their studies. But no matter what emphasis is laid on formal education here, the Home lacks a library. Yuveka, from Praajak, had made a proposal to set up one for these children. The idea was greeted by all of us and we proposed it to Dadu.

We learned that parents were allowed to visit the place only once a month. Many parents were visiting their sons during this weekend. We met two sets of parents, relieved to have deposited their children in the safe custody of the Home as the atmosphere back home is too stressful to raise them.

Health and hygiene, as is always a prime concern for me, seemed a little neglected though. Since the place has no supply of running water, the children bathe in the ponds which are also used for washing utensils, clothes etc. Many children have suffered allergic reactions due to this. They are given medicines for the rashes and the reactions later.

After the lunch we settled for some indoor games as it was raining outside. The kids were pretty enthusiastic about it. We played dumb-charade and some other games innovated and improvised by one of our teammates and we were pleased to discover that the children were quite original in their approach---a little encouragement could work wonders at times.

It was about 4-30 pm when we finally decided to leave. The different groups visiting the Home had brought biscuits and exercise books for the children. Biscuits were distributed and copies were handed over to them. Snaps were taken--all smiling faces doing their part of charity and the noble deed accomplished ,we returned with experiences rich from a day borrowed from their lives.