Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha works among the people of the Sunderbans-An archipelago, stretching for almost two hundred miles, from the Hooghly river in West Bengal to the shores of the Meghna in Bangladesh.These islands, numbering in the thousands are covered with mangrove jungles, and are the home of such fearsome animals as the Bengal Tiger, crocodiles, sharks and snakes.

This is also where an estimated 4 million people reside in these perilous circumstances – made worse by the constant threat of cyclones. A vast majority, about 85%, are very poor. They eke out an existence collecting non- timber forest produce like tiger prawn seeds, fishing, vending vegetables and fish, and by working for a daily wage.

One of the largest islands in the Sunderbans is Kultali. Baikunthapur is the biggest of the five villages on Kultali island. All the islands are accessible only by boat. The remoteness serves as an excuse for poor facilities and healthcare services are almost non-existent. Baikunthapur Tarun Sangha (BTS) was born out of a local club in 1982, when major floods forced the club members to spur into action by helping flood victims reach safer places and to petition the government to provide relief and support.

In the last 23 years, the services and programs provided by BTS have grown to include two crèches for infants, a sustainable agriculture project, agro-equipment support service, community grain bank, savings and micro-credit ventures, disaster mitigation and emergency relief services, rural library and literacy programs.

Since January 2004, Vibha has been funding the operation of the two Child Care Centers (crèches) run by BTS. The crèches, “Shishutirtha” and “Green buds”, serve Baikunthapur and the neighboring four villages. They take care of 50 infants (0-5 years old) while their mothers work to supplement their meager family income. In the crèches, the children are provided nutrition in the form of a mid-day meal, regular health checkups and immunization, in addition to providing them a head-start towards formal schooling. Two “crèche mothers” take care of 25 children in each Child Care Center.

The mothers of the infants in the child-care centers also participate in a self-help group, where they discuss issues such as health and hygiene, small savings and school attendance. This discussion serves as a feedback mechanism between the crèche mothers and the families of the infants in their care.

In early 2004, Vibha funded a permanent brick and cement structure to house the two child-care centers and furnish them with basic amenities at a total cost of $3300. In 2006, an additional set of 4 child-care centers were added resulting in a total of 6 Child care centers in 5 villages working with 150 children. In 2008, Vibha is also going to fund the training of the crèche mothers so that they will be able to impart pre-primary education to the children. Vibha also funds recurring expenses like staff salaries, food, emergency medicine and educational aids to supplement the funds provided by West Bengal Socal Welfare Advisory Board (CSWB).