Sumit (name changed) and his friends used to work on railway stations in Kolkata, selling snacks and beverages and earning around Rs 1,500 per month. Sumit (18) was living at Sumangalam "" a government-run home for children in need of protection "" when someone from Prajaak (an NGO) told him that he could get training at ITC's hotel, Sonar, and will also be given a stipend during the training period.
ITC Sonar, the Kolkata-based luxury hotel of the ITC Group, has taken up the task of imparting training in hospitality to underprivileged children of Kolkata, thereby helping to make them independent.
As part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), ITC Sonar aims to provide vocational training to underprivilaged children of Kolkata.
At the end of the comprehensive training programme, ITC Sonar would give the children a certificate of merit. The certificate is expected to help the children secure jobs in the hospitality sector.
Prajaak has a tie up with ITC Sonar to associate with the programme.
In Sumit's case, Prajaak made arrangements for him, along with four other boys to stay at a grant-in-aid home in Dhakuria, a location 10 km from ITC Sonar.
Sumit now goes to the hotel everyday. Training is for 8 hours, six days a week.
Sumit and his friends get dropped back from work, a stipend of Rs 1,000 for the first six months and Rs 2,000 for the last six months.
The course is for one year, and Sumit has already learnt a lot of work and has been taking classes in spoken English.
Three departments of the hotel are involved in this training programme -- housekeeping, laundry and horticulture.
The overall welfare of the children is taken care of by Jasbir Singh, head of security at ITC Sonar, Kolkata.
Started in February 2008, around 24 children from various NGOs all over the city and from juvenile homes are being given training at ITC Sonar for a year in various departments like housekeeping, laundry, horticulture and food and beverages support. These children are also provided meals and transportation.
Special counselling sessions by experts are arranged for them at ITC Sonar, thereby guiding them with reference to lifestyle and other psychological problems.
The initiative that started in February, 2008, is well on its course now and these students have coped well with the procedures of the hospitality industry and have now become an important part of the ITC Sonar family.
ITC Sonar has tied-up with NGOs other than Prajaak for their boys getting training in hospitality at ITC. These include Cini Asha, Right Track, and Don Bosco Ashalayam.
Likewise, for 20-year-old Arup (name changed), someone from Cini Asha decided to send him to ITC Sonar for training in hospitality.
Initially Arup did not know what hospitality meant, but he realised that the training could land him a respectable job. So far, the course at ITC Sonar has taught Arup how to read and speak in English.
He has also learnt to write his curriculum vitae, and believes that after the course he will be able to get a job in one of the 3-star hotels in Kolkata.
A certificate from ITC Sonar will work in his favour, he says.
Arup lives with his mother who works to make both ends meet. Arup did not go to school as he had to earn a living and ended up as a daily wage construction worker.
But now he gets a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000 and also food and transportation from ITC Sonar. Another 18-year-old Sanjay (name changed) was sent to ITC Sonar by NGO Don Bosco Ashalayam (DBA). Sanjay was a street child picked up by DBA and was given vocational training in tailoring and gardening so he could fend for himself.
At ITC, Sanjay works in the kitchen and cleans plates. He is taught how to use the machines for washing clothes and sheets and also pressing them neatly. He is taught gardening and how to plant trees and maintain them. Sanjay can also make beds.
But the boys do not interact with the guests as they cannot speak English fluently.
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