Sangi Sathi, an FE Block-based women's philanthropic organisation, celebrated its 12th anniversary by financially helping 12 students in need.
The Rabindra Okakura Bhavan event began with a choric rendition of a sloka from Rig Veda by the members of Sangi Sathi. Chief guests were Alok Mukherjee, a Jadavpur University professor, and Suman Singh, a councillor of Calcutta Municipal Corporation.
“Service to mankind was Rabindranath Tagore's philosophy of life and Sangi Sathi is doing just that," said Mukherjee. “Sri Aurobindo too had said that the significance of life lies not in longevity but in doing something meaningful for the greater cause.”
Lauding the initiative, Singh said no service could be greater than standing by the needy and helping meritorious students fulfill their dream. "I shall extend any kind of support needed by Sangi Sathi," she said.
And then it was over to the beneficiaries. Suman Das, a 14-year-old from South 24-Parganas, said how he was detected with blood cancer at the age of seven. "It was a terrible time for my family but the silver lining was the continuous financial support from Sangi Sathi," he said. Suman's mother is also a cancer patient and father Mahadev, who works at a watch repairing shop, broke down while sharing the challenges they face.
Others who received aid that evening were Jyotish Roy, father of cancer-stricken Jayanta Roy of Sukantanagar, Shailen Ghosh from Thalassemia & AIDS Prevention Society and Kasturi Saha from Rehabilitation Centre for Children (RCFC).
Secretary of the group Debi Kesh said how for the last 12 years they had been committed to stand by the economically backward and meritorious students who scored over 75 per cent. “We also extend our help to children affected by thalassemia and other terminal diseases,” she said.
President Rakhi Sarkar shared success stories of their beneficiaries. “One such student, Supriya Sarkar, completed his MSc from IIT Mumbai and will now be pursuing PhD at University of Alberta, Canada. Debaprito Sarkar studied MBBS at Calcutta Medical College and Shubham Sikdar from College of Medicine & Sagore Dutta Hospital. Anupam Roy is studying medicine at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital," she said.
The show concluded with the play Tej by a guest drama group.
