Colour me bad: On a regular day, messing up the floor would have invited a stern scowl from his mother. Not on Wednesday, when she herself had her hands full of colour and daddy was barely recognisable in his multi-coloured make-up. The toddler, of course, didn?t seem to mind, busy playing by himself. Picture by Pabitra Das

March is a busy month for Hope Foundation, with a stream of visitors and volunteers, predominantly from Ireland, arriving in the city as part of its unique project. The influx is the result of a competition in which schoolchildren sell Butler?s chocolate bars branded with the Hope Foundation logo. The proceeds go towards charity work in Calcutta.

Sinead Harrington, an Irish volunteer, described the changes made to the competition after the chocolate bar campaign caught on: ?The original scheme was that two representatives from the school which had sold the most chocolate would win a trip to Calcutta to visit Hope Foundation. Such was the popularity of this year?s contest that it was decided that three school batches would be sent to the city so that the children can see the work being done here.?

The sale of chocolate bars netted Euro 65,000 this year. It is the largest amount raised by the project so far.

When the Metro visited Hope Foundation, there was a group of recent arrivals sprawled on the roof contending with Calcutta?s fierce early afternoon sun!

The visitors will learn about all the facets of the organisation?s work, including the work that it does in the slums of Ultadanga, which has been one of the key areas of activity since a fire devastated the locality in 2000.

?Some of those who have come here are very upset by a few things that they have seen and heard, but they also appreciate that the situation is only getting better all the time,? said Harrington.

The next big Irish group will arrive in August, when boys from the reputed Blackrock College, Dublin, will come to work at the Paschim Banga Krira O Janakalyan Parishad cricket coaching camp for underprivileged children. Apart from taking part in cricket camps, the boys will get involved in music programmes with the children.

?The great thing is that despite the boys from Blackrock College coming from very privileged backgrounds, they are totally open to working in Calcutta,? observed Harrington.

Another distinguished European school, Manchester Grammar School (one of the best in Britain according to academic standards), has also expressed interest in sending pupils to Hope Foundation. ?Nothing is concrete yet, but we have had a couple of emails from them and they seem interested in our work,? explained Harrington.

The next major event in the NGO?s calendar is the Hope Charity Ball, in association with Spandan and A4 Creation, which will be held in the Banquet Hall at The Park on March 17.

The do will feature a live performance by Hip Pocket, accompanied by Rila O?Brien. Quite a few leading lights of Tollywood and bigwigs in the corporate world will be in attendance at the event which will kick off at 7 pm. The tickets are priced at Rs 1,500.

Patrick Pringle

First up: The smaller, the smarter was the message that toddlers of Alipore Tiny Tots Private Nursery School conveyed on their annual sports day on February 7. A host of events including relay, lemon-and-spoon races and tug of war was held.

Fun school

The pre-primary and primary classes of Delhi Public School, New Town, were treated to a fun-filled week starting March 6.

A host of exciting events like Magic Show, Puppet Show, Kitchen Corner and movie shows saw the tots have a gala time throughout the week.

The pre-primary section was beautifully decorated for the occasion and students came in colourful party attire to go with the festive mood. The magic show was especially a hit with the kids as they greeted each vanishing trick with a loud cheer.

The stories enacted at the puppet show were accompanied by music. The children even rustled up some mouth-watering delicacies like cheese sandwich, vegetable sandwich, papri chaat and fruit salad with a little help from their teachers.

The screen fare included Hanuman, Lion King, Dunston Checks In and Stuart Little. The week?s celebrations came to an end with the ?graduation ceremony? of the kids where they were conferred with a merit certificate along with their report card, as their parents cheered on.

In sync: Students of Manovikas Kendra presented a rhythmic ensemble at a song and dance programme by physically and mentally challenged students from various institutes at Gyan Manch on March 11. Picture by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

Course key

The Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts India (ICFAI) has launched a unique distance learning programme, Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA), keeping in view the tremendous job opportunities being created by the rapidly growing information technology (IT) sector in the country.

The three-year BCA has been designed to impart a basic understanding of concepts, strategies, tools and techniques of computer applications. Eligibility is pass in 10+2 or its equivalent with mathematics as a major subject. Students with non-mathematics background can also join the course, but are required to undergo a foundation course in the subject in the first year.

The syllabus will cover a wide range of topics from BASIC, Unix and C to system analysis and design, database management and Java. It will also encapsulate principles of management and financial accounting.

?The educational methodology for the programme consists of contemporary curriculum, comprehensive courseware, self-evaluatory assignments and case studies,? said Gautam Chanda, regional manager (East), ICFAI.

Biswarup Gooptu