Sabuj Sangha - Area of Operation

Where We Work

Sabuj Sangha works in three areas, namely the Sundarbans, Suburban Kolkata and Jalpaiguri.

It was founded in the Sundarban region of West Bengal in 1954. The Sundarbans, the world's largest delta region, is home to over a four million people. It consists of a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats, saltwater swamps and small islands of mangrove forests and is one of the most beautiful and picturesque places in the world. However, despite its obvious beauty, the region and its populace are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones.

Sunderban

Since Sabuj Sangha began working in the Sundarbans, it has improved the lives of tens of thousands of people and improved the quality of life in the area. It runs multiple programmes ranging from health to education to disaster response. It has also implemented a Model Village Programme across 24 villages in the region.

Throughout the 1990s, Sabuj Sangha observed that many families were leaving the Sundarbans and migrating towards Kolkata city in search of work. These families began to settle along the southern railway line into the city. In the late 1990s, Ansuman Das, the director of Sabuj Sangha, visited these railway settlements and was concerned for the health, safety and security of many of the inhabitants, especially the children. In 2001 Sabuj Sangha commissioned a report entitled 'Railway Children', to determine the scale of the problem. Based on this report, "Aalor Disha" , the peri-urban unit of Sabuj Sangha was established in 2002. Aalor Disha is responsible for delivering health, education and livelihood programmes in these communities.

Periurban

Sabuj Sangha has recently begun working in Jalpaiguri. Jalpaiguri is situated in the northern most part of West Bengal bordering with Bhutan and Assam. It is famous for its picturesque landscape, dominated by tea plantations. Many of the villagers are employed in these tea gardens, working very long days for very little pay. They have almost no additional source of income and many families live well below the poverty line with no access to health services. There is high rate of malaria and malnutrition in the region. Sabuj Sangha, with its many years experience working as a development organisation, identified Jalpaiguri as a region requiring intervention to ensure the safety and well being of the people. Sabuj Sangha's work in the area currently focuses on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. It hopes to expand its operations in the coming months to provide the much needed support to the thousands of vulnerable people living in the region.

Jalpaiguri