The city’s premier road race will see at least one record broken this year.
The latest edition of the Tata Steel Kolkata 25K, partnered by The Telegraph, has already raised Rs 61 lakh for charity, around Rs 4 lakh more than last year’s kitty of Rs 65.35 lakh.
The money collected will go to 40 NGOs working for education, disability, environment conservation and women’s empowerment.
One of the beneficiaries of the December 15 race would be Noah’s Ark, an NGO in Thakurpukur. A first-time beneficiary of TSK 25K, the organisation offers computer, spoken English and other training to poor women and helps them find jobs. The organisation also runs a school for persons with disability.
“We have changed the lives of 150 girls so far. But it is just the beginning. Being a part of such a big event will be a huge boost for us,” said Dipankar Sarkar, the secretary of the organisation.
Fundraising for the race will continue till December 30. Since last year, running groups have also been involved in raising funds, apart from corporate and individual donations.
A portion of of the funds will go to Ektara, an NGO that works for slum children and women in Tiljala and Topsia and runs a school with over 1,000 children.
“It is a challenging place, full of biases and prejudices against women. We try to involve the entire community in our work,” said folk arts curator and social entrepreneur Nandita Palchoudhuri, who is associated with the NGO.
Meena Dave, the chief executive officer of India Cares, the philanthropy partner of TSK, described the race as a unique platform. “It brings different organisations under one roof. You can work for human rights, disabled rights, women’s empowerment, education… for whatever you want and be under the same umbrella,” she said at a programme at the race centre off Red Road on Wednesday.
A third NGO, Motivation India, will send around 50 wheelchair users to the Champions with Disability run. “Disabled persons are still considered a liability, especially in rural areas. We help them lead a normal life — study, buy groceries and even play a sport or two,” said Sonali Mundle, who represented the NGO.
The organisation provides customised wheelchairs to people with mobility problems. “There is en masse production and distribution of wheelchairs in our country. But mobility problems are not uniform. Using a wrong wheelchair can complicate the problems for a user,” Mundle said.
Sukumar Ghorur knows how. The 32-year-old from Bankura’s Sonamukhi suffers from polio. He had received a wheelchair from a local body in the district but developed severe back sprain after using it. His legs would not rest properly at the base of the chair.
Ghorur now moves about freely in a wheelchair gifted by Motivation India. “I can help my mother in the kitchen and buy stuff from nearby shops now. I am excited about the race on Sunday,” he said.
