36 Kinsington Street South Burlington VT 05403 thehowleyfoundation@gmail.com

Calcutta Kids

Calcutta Kids, mission is to provide essential services that enable adolescent girls, women, and children in Calcutta’s slums to thrive.  

This nonprofit grew out of a grassroots organization created in 2005 by a couple of college kids who went to the slums of Calcutta (Kolkata) with the plan of running a mobile clinic. 

This mobile clinic has amazingly transformed into a 501c3 nonprofit organization that has served over 600 mothers, 600 young children, 70 pregnant women, and 40 adolescent girls. 

Statistics show that one-in-four low-birth-weight babies are the major cause of death among newborns. In India, more than 2 million children under 5 die each year of preventable causes of malnutrition and dysentery and one significant key statistic is that the work of Calcutta Kids has reduced malnutrition by 73% in the areas of their work. Calcutta Kids has also noted that India has the highest number of women who die from childbirth in the world.

In the past 10 years, Calcutta Kids has worked hard to both address and turn the corner on these statistics.  

Working with 750 families in Fakir Bagan, a transient slum community on the outskirts of Calcutta, is where Calcutta Kids serves its many women, children, and adolescent girls.  The data shows that the support of Calcutta Kids has also played a significant role in reducing child morbidity, due to lack of prenatal care or proper nutrition and support.  

With the support of Calcutta Kids, pregnant women are having healthier children. These children are now growing into adolescence where the girls also have the support of Calcutta Kids in their young lives, being able to go to school and learn vocational skills and most of all, learning that they have choices in their lives that will lead to new futures for themselves and a new direction for the community. 
Learn more about how Calcutta Kids are changing lives here.