Ngo Directed Initiative

Our place is at 11B Mahendra Sarkar Street in Kolkata. If you know the area, you know it's a bit of a maze with the narrow lanes and the old buildings all crowded together. The office itself is quite plain, just a couple of rooms where we keep our supplies and do our planning. We focus on different initiatives, mostly trying to get resources to the people who actually need them. It’s not always easy because there is so much to do and not enough hands, but we keep at it. The walls are a bit thin so you can hear the neighbors and the kids playing outside in the alley. We don't have fancy air conditioning, just a few ceiling fans that creak when they’re on high. Most of the work involves writing things down and making sure the records are right. It gets very humid in the summer, which makes it hard to focus, but we’re used to it. We drink a lot of water and try to stay organized. People from the neighborhood sometimes drop in to ask questions or just to see what’s going on. It’s a very local operation and we don’t try to be anything else. The furniture is mismatched and we have stacks of papers everywhere, but we know where everything is. It's a humble setup but we get things done from this little spot on Mahendra Sarkar Street. We just do our bit.