CATHEDRAL SOCIAL SERVICE
HOW CSS BEGAN
In April, 1963, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Mother Church under the Diocese of Calcutta, initiated the mission of serving the marginalised in the urban areas of Calcutta, and Cathedral Social Service was formed under its Social Service Wing, widely known as CSS. The primary vision set at that time was to ”Show God’s love to those who are still unaware of it”.
One of the landmark initiatives taken was in 1967, when a small school was opened as CSS Non-Formal Primary School, at the premises of Bhowanipur Cemetery, Kolkata. Children of the families living in the underserved neighbourhoods, parents working as vegetable vendors, individuals working as domestic helpers – all belonged to a low socio economic background. Irrespective of their caste, creed or colour they were brought to study in this school.. In the beginning, in addition to imparting primary education, a free clinic was also introduced to provide consultation and medical assistance to the school children. Besides these initiatives, milk and food were also distributed among the children
Subsequently, a similar second CSS Non-formal Primary School was started at St Paul’s Mission School, Scott Lane, Sealdah, Kolkata, with a similar mission. Children from destitute families living in the vicinity were enrolled in the primary school for basic education. Both these schools continue till today in serving the community with a dedicated team of teachers and coordinators.
THE WAY FORWARD
After that, CSS expanded its outreach programs, including financial assistance for poor and deserving students pursuing further education, donations to old age homes, and Social Service activities through its Vocational Training Centre, among others.
At these Non-Formal schools, students receive Mid-Day Meals on school days. Elderly students who complete their education at CSS schools and have an aptitude and willingness to pursue further education are sponsored to complete their studies. Their tuition fees, books, uniform, and study aids are all part of this sponsorship, and in some special cases, some students are also provided with patronage for computer training.
The CSS also runs a Vocational Training Centre (VTC) where women and young girls are trained in textile handicrafts such as embroidery, tailoring, soft toy making, doll making, art & craft decorations and applique and patchwork to make them self- reliant. Products from VTC are displayed at the Cathedral Souvenir Corner within the Cathedral premises.
Expenses for all the outreach programmes come primarily from the donations given by the Cathedral Members, Cathedral Women’s Fellowship for Christian Services (another Ministry of the Church), through various fundraising events and activities hosted by the congregation, well-wishers of the Cathedral, donor institutions, and from the Cathedral‘s own Fund. CSS requires more and more such donations to strengthen its mission.
SUCCESS STORIES
Debu Halder had his primary education at Scott Lane, one of the CSS Non-Formal schools. He went on to attain a degree from Ashutosh College, Kolkata and then completed a multimedia animation course. He currently works as a choreographer - a passion which he has successfully turned into a profession.
Poulami Majhi’s academic journey began in our CSS Scott Lane Non-Formal Primary school. She completed Class X from St. Ninian’s High School and Class XII from United Missionary Girls’ High School, Kolkata. Following high school, she completed a BA in English Honours from Women’s Christian College, Kolkata and an MA in English from Calcutta University. She currently tutors economically disadvantaged students.