Alumni Affairs

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Giving Back to SMS — Sitavan

Magan. Kamli. Natu. Hira. Lumbu Kesa. Kesa Panna. Peanut. Mansingh. Jakshi. Jagdish the carpenter. Jivan the baker. The bearers, dorm attendants and others who were essential to our lives, part of the SMS family, but on the periphery of our consciousness. They lived in tubular structures down the khud from the bofs, by the dhobis. Where are they now?

Over the past 20-50 years most of those families have cast off the tubulars and migrated into the forest east of school, 2 minutes down Tiger Path, creating a slum village now called Sitavan. Basic tasks like fetching water are a challenge, and it can be touch-and-go sitting down to poo in a forest that leopards are increasingly calling home.

The expectation for the village kids would be to grow up as woodcutters, maybe bearers. Jivan-the-baker's son reached higher, and now teaches at a government school in town. Could other kids aspire to such a future, or better? SMS and alumni have come up with a couple of ways to push the possibilities.

1. Hard cash (on condition that you stay off the bottle). Bob Amore (1957) rounded up a team of friends in the UK to fund one family with a monthly stipend for 20 years. That family now has a stone+mortar house. One room that serves as living, bed, kitchen, and sometimes a nursery for the baby buffalo. It's the envy of the neighbourhood.







2. Education. An avenue with plentiful potential, one that the Brothers know a little about. SMS noted the Sitavan situation and started free classes for the village kids. A colourful sign reading “Edmund Rice Bal Vidya Mandir” was posted above a class room in the 1955 building. Kids were given a bit of tuck to incentivize them to return. But the program had to be suspended when the pandemic hit.

   
   

   Edi Alva (1967), in cooperation with Br Raj Noronha (1976), has come up with a far-reaching plan to revive and to expand BVM, in basic literacy, math and English, as well as vocational training for older dropouts. It begins with a statistical survey of needs, and concludes with cost projections. It has taken months to develop, with several Brothers closely involved, in particular bursar Br Parag D'Costa, principal Br Sabino D'Souza, and Br Griban D'Silva. The budget is Rs 15 lakh/year, and the plan is currently for it to be supported entirely by alumni donations. Funds will be received directly by the Brothers' India HQ: the Congregation of Christian Brothers in India (CCBI) in Delhi. Edi's taking pledges rather than cheques for now. More than 300 alums are signed up, and operating funds for 2024 have been pledged. There are opportunities to get involved for future years. In fact there's a contest on, and as of the last update the Class of 1976 ISC had snatched the lead from the Class of 1998. To contribute cash, expertise, time, ideas or anything else — and to pull your weight for your class in the contest — please write to edialva51 at gmail.com.

This isn't Edi's first foray into Abu philanthropy. Nearly a decade ago he assembled a team of alums to construct bofs for the poor in town. As for Br Raj, he's been a visionary leader in community vocational uplift at St Vincent's High & Technical School in Asansol, featured in this documentary (watch this segment which begins 15 minutes in, then rewind and watch from the beginning), and is a tremendous resource to have on this project.

Initiatives like these create invaluable goodwill for SMS. You're invited to visit Sitavan yourself, come up with ideas that would make a difference, cook them in consultation with SMS, and act on them as the gentlemen above are doing.

Or keep it simple. Donate and let them do the heavy lifting. How to donate.