Calcutta Rescue Fund  

Health, Education and Hope

CR30 Weekend

Hundreds of people attended three days of events held in Hampstead in July 2009 to mark the 30th anniversary of the start of Calcutta Rescue's work with the poorest of the poor.  There was something for everyone with a lecture, art exhibition, craft fair, chai stall, sponsored street sleep and a picnic on Hampstead Heath for supporters.

The weekend was a success on so many fronts. Around £10,000 was raised from the sale of art works, handicrafts and the Big Street Sleep. And in addition to lots of public interest in the charity's work there was a range of generous offers to help, from individuals interested in volunteering to an Indian restaurant keen to stage an exhibition of paintings by CR schoolchildren and even an offer to make a film about Calcutta Rescue.  It was wonderful that so many ex volunteers came along, some of whom expressed a desire to get back involved with the charity.

There was also considerable press coverage of the event, with over a dozen articles in local newspapers and the Indian press, radio interviews, and scores of web articles from USA Today to the Deccan Journal.  Heavy rain on the Friday and the closure of Hampstead tube for much of the weekend inevitably had some impact on attendance levels.

An enormous amount of work went into preparing the beautiful Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel for the lecture by the charity's chief executive, Dr Bobby, and the launch of the art exhibition of watercolours by CR schoolchildren and arresting photographs of CR schoolchildren by Belgian photographer Dominique David.

Coordinating the preparations was Glen Kendall, the charity's administrator in Kolkata in 2008, whose energy and enthusiasm was central to the event's success.  Dr Bobby gave a fascinating talk on the work of the charity, which has expanded and improved beyond all recognition over the past 30 years while staying true to its mission of bringing healthcare and hope to the poorest of the poor.

A sunny Saturday more than made up for the shortage of visitors the night before.  An authentic eye-popping pink Indian Ambassador taxi, which we had been generously loaned to advertise the event, caused quite a stir on the high street.  As people slowed down to admire it they were invited to stop by Angus Kirk and an ever-changing team of enthusiastic supporters and have a free chai.  From there they were encouraged to enter our handicrafts bazaar, overseen by our own handicrafts queen, Pamela Wynn.

Beyond that lay the chapel hall into which the art and photography exhibition had been transferred with considerable effort early that morning by a chain-gang of supporters.  Through out the day a steady stream of people flowed through the exhibition, a number taking out their cheque books to buy the paintings, photographs and greeting cards.  In the evening 22 people ranging in age from eight to the retired, gathered at the chapel for the Big Street Sleep.

While others were settling down for the night on the gravel and pavement, Suzanna Williams took the concept to another level, dressing in polka dot pyjamas and a nightcap and visiting local bars to ask for donations – with considerable success!  Until the early hours people returning home after a night out stopped outside the chapel for a chat about what was going on and many also popped some money into our donation box - a brass water pot from Kolkata.

Throughout the night a candle was kept burning in memory of Dutch CR supporter, Dr Mark Pleizier, who was stabbed to death in Kalimantan, Indonesia, the previous week.  Fortunately the rain held off throughout the night.  Despite near constant street noise, the sponsored sleep was far more exhilarating and less tiring than expected, with a real spirit of camaraderie among the ex-volunteers and supporters. It generated a significant amount of press coverage as well as raising over £6,000 in sponsorship.

A huge thank you to everyone who took part:

Karen Gleave, Steve Wong, Julia James, Monika Faiist, Dermot Boyle, Philip Imray, Angus Kirk, Robin James, Suzanna Williams, Jenny Kerr-Davis, Peter Kerr-Davis, Asa Kerr-Davis, Maya Kerr-Davis, Sarah Cavanagh, Oliver Cavanagh, Natasha Soares, Steve Burrows, Sagarika Bhattacharjee and Sean Duggan.

Although the weekend of activities was organized by the UK support group it was great to have in attendance colleagues from other support groups across Europe, in particular Michael O'Reilly from Ireland, Monika Faissat from Germany and Gerlinde Horrack from Austria.

And Dr Jack himself put in an appearance on Saturday afternoon to the delight of all who were able to talk to him.

Following on from the weekend, Dr Bobby went on a very successful tour of the European support groups with the German group organizing an event in Pullheim, near Cologne where Dr. Bobby made a presentation to over 50 people. The painting and photographic exhibition went on display in Provence, France where it has generated a lot of interest and sales.  

Although the CR30 weekend is now over, the UK group is exploring other events and ideas over the coming months to publicize its anniversary so please keep checking this website for details.