Isobel's Opinion

It seems to me that there is a general assumption among us first world inhabitants that the people living in poverty-stricken areas such as the Sunderbans are content with what they have and are happy despite their deprived circumstances.
This was not the impression I received when we visited the some of the local families in their homes. These people are entirely self-dependent. they have nothing to fall back on if something goes wrong. For example, one mother told us of her family's loss in the floods. They had lost their home, their produce and all their worldly possessions and they were simply left, along with many others, to rebuild their home and cope as best they could. Another family had a son who had lost a finger while working with a rice machine. The accident had happened more than six months ago and the boy, who was only ten years old, still had not received treatment for his injury. these are just some examples of how the infrastructure in the area is really not up to scratch. The physical and mental stress of such a life is visible in the people, who age much faster and have a shorter life expectancy than us in the western world.
However, I do not believe that moving these people from their homes in this impoverished area into a society like ours would be much of a service to them. As the women's independent society, situated up the road from where we were staying in Jarkhali promoted, they life in a beautiful area, rich with nature. It is my view that the best thing for these people would be to improve the infrastructural services in the area such as health services, education and insurance.
I think our project of educating the children in the area is a very good starting point towards further development of the community. Of course, to really revolutionize the situation would require governmental co-operation (funding), and this may be the biggest problem due to  issues of corruption, but I think education is the first step. Where the people are educated, positive change will follow. Irish history is a prime example of this (though, of course, India's problems outweigh Ireland's).
Our program is essentially a form of self help for the people and I hope to see it eventually contribute to development in the area and maybe even in the entire country.