"All that is not given is lost"
Indian Proverb
Paddyfield School
Paddyfield School is a vibrant community centre located in the village of Bonhooghly in West Bengal incorporating a charitable dispensary, crèche and education centre for disabled children and school dropouts all rolled into one. It grew out of a young person’s movement established by Nirmal Sen Gupta in 1968. Arc’s Chief Executive Michael Anderson has had a close association with Sen Gupta and Paddyfield School for several decades, which influenced his vision for the development of Arc, particularly in the way participants at Arc are encouraged to become involved in helping to run the organisation.
Arc and Paddyfield School are now developing a joint scheme to train young women of Bonhooghly to produce high quality traditional embroideries known as Khanta. The work produced will then be for sale in the Arc Gallery in a fair trade arrangement, which will guarantee that the women will be paid a fair price for their work.
But this will be only the start of what is hoped will become a flourishing partnership in future years.
Donations
Paddyfield School works with the poorest families and most of the work is undertaken by dedicated volunteers who themselves struggle to make a living. If you are interested in making a donation to Paddyfield School please contact us. Even a small donation will help pay for a child’s education or buy medicine, so any help will be greatly appreciated by the villagers.