Benches for Purulia’s children
On Jan 28, the students of Bagatbari Primary School in Purulia district of West Bengal were all excited to go to school, for, they were going to sit on benches for the first time, thanks to the project of RC Calcutta Mid South, D 3291.
“It gave us so much happiness to see the excited children when they trooped into the classrooms and sat on the benches with such reverence. Until then, we didn’t realise what a luxury simple furniture can be. We are so used to them that we don’t even notice such things,” said Rama Prasad Nag, immediate past president of the club.
The school, established in 1905, is popular in the locality for mid-day meals. Nag saw the need for the benches and desks during one of his visit to the school when he found the children sitting on the floor.
The project took shape when the club got financial support from RC Battersea, Brixton & Clapham, London, and together they provided furniture to the school at a cost of nearly `1 lakh, in the presence of Dr Amar Basu, International Project Chair of the London club, who made a special visit to the school.
The club is celebrating its silver jubilee year and has carried out several developmental projects in and around the backward regions of Purulia in these 25 years.