This Ramadan, Help Children of Tiljala Basti Break Their Fast With Dignity

Kolkata’s Tiljala basti is surrounded by garbage dumps, and here it’s not unusual to see children as young as 9-10 working as labour to bring in some extra money to help the family survive. Hunger decides whether a child studies or works here. 

Their parents work daily wages through rickshaw pulling, waste picking, street vending, and domestic work. When work stops even briefly, food disappears immediately. For children, this often means being pulled out of school to earn a meal.

“No parent wants their child to be a labour but here they have to or they’ll die. Such is the condition of this basti”

Ramadan makes this struggle deeper. Children fast with utmost faith, but when it’s time to break their fast, they have nothing more than just bread and salt.

Growing Up Near a Dumpster to a Teacher Transforming Lives
Mohammad Alamgir, now 70, was born and raised in the same basti he serves today. His childhood unfolded amid garbage dumps, dim kerosene lamps, and constant hunger. Like many children around him, he worked from a young age, collecting scraps to survive, as his parents believed education held little value when the next meal was uncertain.

Against all odds, Alamgir completed higher secondary school and became a teacher. Unable to watch children repeat the life he had escaped, he began teaching them in makeshift spaces inside the basti. What started as a personal effort grew into UBDA, which has since supported over 20,000 families and reached more than 10,000 children across four decades.

Community Centres Where Children Learn, Eat, and Feel Safe
At the heart of UBDA’s work are four community centres spread across Tiljala Basti. For many children, these centres are the only place where they are treated like children and not workers. Mothers rely on these spaces knowing their children are safe, nourished, and learning. Women gather here to build self-help groups, access counselling, and seek support during crises. Families turn to these centres during emergencies, and for many, they are the only safe spaces they know.

While these centres are in a fragile condition and urgently need renovation, an even more immediate concern stands before the basti right now: the upcoming month of Ramadan.

This Ramadan, Hunger Should Not Decide a Child’s Fate
Ramadan is a month of faith, reflection, and compassion. In Tiljala Basti, it is also a month of anxiety. Families worry about how they will manage iftar. Parents often skip meals so their children can eat. In some homes, children are sent to work just to ensure food on the table during the fasting month.

This Ramadan, UBDA aims to support children with nutrition kits, fresh fruits, and clothes, so that hunger does not force children out of school and women into deeper hardship. Food support during Ramadan does more than fill stomachs. It protects childhoods, preserves dignity, and keeps families together.

“When families have food, children stay in classrooms; hunger is what pushes them out.” - Mohammad Alamgir

Your support can protect childhood this Ramadan
At 70, despite ongoing health challenges, Alamgir continues this work with the same resolve he had as a young teacher. His vision is simple yet powerful: no child should hold garbage instead of books, and no woman should feel powerless because of poverty.

Your support this Ramadan will help these children break their fast with dignity, keep them in school, and strengthen a community that has relied on UBDA for generations. 

Together, we can ensure that compassion reaches where it is needed most and that hunger does not erase decades of hope.

Donate now!