West to West with Bekind 2026
West to West with Bekind 2026
In the summer of 2025 while on a motorcycle trip with five friends in northern Spain, I had a chance encounter with a gentleman and his wife at a filling station. We were in the shop paying for fuel and out of curiosity the man asked about the logo on my t-shirt. A brief explanation about the charity lead to a unique collaboration between Bekind Ireland and Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, County Mayo.
My wife, Martina and I travelled west in early October 2025 to make a presentation to the students. We discussed the student groups who had previously travelled to Kolkata with us and how, through their fundraising efforts, they had enabled Bekind to change the lives of many poor children in India. Eight Fifth Year students from Sancta Maria, all of them young women, started their fundraising soon afterwards with the support of their Principal and teachers. It was the beginning of an experience and an insight into life in a developing country and its people. The journey from the west of Ireland to West Bengal had begun, but not without unforeseen obstacles.
When bringing a group to India, logistics play a large part; planning, preparation, inoculations, accommodation and flights. Our usual one stop route via the Middle East was suddenly no longer an option as the war escalated and airlines cancelled or tried to reroute flights. We had initially planned to travel at Easter, choosing dates that would avoid us being in Kolkata during the time of the local state elections. Now our plans were thrown into disarray and the unsavoury option to cancel was looming. Fuel and gas shortages in Kolkata were also a concern with reports of several of the Hope Foundation homes, including Bekind Boys’ Home having to use outdoor fires to cook for the children and staff!
Months of fundraising efforts by the students and the anticipation of their journey were uppermost in my thoughts. Conscious of them going into Leaving Certificate in September meant this was their only opportunity to travel.
With great efforts on behalf of our travel agent, Dawson Travel, new flights were organised, albeit at higher fares, from Dublin to London to Delhi and a final connecting one to Kolkata.
We met in Dublin airport at 4.30am on 30 April and arrived in Kolkata to our accommodation at 5am on 1 May. We barely made our connecting flight for Delhi to Kolkata, due to a minor error with one girl’s visa, the immigration officer sending for his superior and asking every question under the sun!
After some much needed rest, we had our customary familiarisation tour of the city, taking in the Victoria Memorial, Howrah Bridge and Howrah Train Station and opening the students and teachers’ eyes to the bustling and chaotic City of Joy.
Then a visit to Bekind Boys’ Home. Great work and effort by our Manager, Joydeep, and staff to prepare our new home for the Irish visitors was really appreciated. The staff and Bekind boys had only moved to our new home in the old Kasba area of the city a few weeks previous. The building looked so much better than the time my wife and I viewed it in January, prior to the lease being signed. What upheaval the boys endured, having to move because of the greed of the previous landlord. All was now well and our student group and their teachers got to meet the Bekind boys. Bonding was instant and the excitement was building for a trip to the countryside the next day.
Our journey south had an edgy feel about it, as security had been stepped up during the state elections. Police and military were prominent in the city and the villages we passed through on our way to Usthi. Any time over the years that I would ask the children “Where would you like to go for our excursion?”, “Usthi” was always their answer. The children loved the freedom in the resort of Breathing Earth, to run, swim, play football, cricket, badminton, zip lines, etc. Martina and I loved the fact that it was less than two hours from Kolkata. Welcoming staff, lovely food and a peaceful rural area makes it an ideal venue for everyone.
Next day we visited Noorpur on the banks of the Hooghly River, and home to the Missionaries of Charity Brothers who tend and care for those with severe special needs. Some of our smaller Bekind Boys were worried and terrified that they were going to be placed there! A walk outside along the riverbank calmed their fears as we strolled in the afternoon sunshine. The riverbank and jetty areas had been repaired as they had been badly damaged by a ship which had run aground some months earlier. Ironically last, August 2026, another freighter, a Singapore flagged ship, had hit the same place after steering failure, undoing all the work that had been carried out! Some forty patients had to be re-located for fear that the MC Brother’s land would be flooded should the boundary wall collapse.
For any tourist visiting Kolkata the tomb of Mother Teresa is normally high on the to do list. Our group was no exception and we travelled from our guest house for 6am mass on Monday morning. Usually, we would take taxis or travel by local bus, but this Monday was different, the results of the local elections were due for release mid-morning and we had been strongly advised not to be on the streets. Our minibus driver dropped and collected us after the group had had a tour of Mother House visiting the spartan room above the kitchen where Mother resided until her death on 5th September 1997, just five days after the tragic death of Princess Diana.
The MC Sisters opened the museum specially for the girls. Usually bustling with international volunteers Mother House had very few visitors, again as a result of tensions in the Middle East which has disrupted and impacted so many lives and will, I fear, have grave consequences for the global economy, and all so totally unnecessary.
Mother House has an atmosphere of calmness where moments of peaceful reflection are to be found, away from a world where aggression and hegemony abound.
I mentioned an “edgy” atmosphere around the city and we had returned to the safety of our guesthouse until lunchtime when we ventured out for a little lunch in one of the few places open for food. Haldiram’s on the corner some two hundred meters from where we were staying is a favourite haunt of ours for over twenty years. Originally established by the Agarwal family in Rajasthan in 1937, they expanded to open in Kolkata in the 1950’s. Purely vegetarian food is served with a wide choice of North and South Indian dishes and street food (without the risks), pizzas, chow Mein, hakka noodles, veg thalis and an incredible broad range for hungry Irish teenagers and locals alike at very reasonable prices.
We were only in the place a few minutes when a huge commotion was heard outside and angry protesters charged down AJC Bose Road outside. Staff and security guards rushed and swing from roller shutters slamming them to the floor and we found ourselves locked in. The girls, looking somewhat bewildered wanted to know what we were going to do? I assured them that firstly, we would not starve, and the protesters would disperse, or be dispersed by the police who are armed and carry large lathis, which I have witnessed being used. Not recommended being on the receiving end.
The anger of the protesters was vented in many ways by the supporters of the losing party whose leader was very reluctant to leave office and accept the result. Mamata Banerjee, founder of the TMC had held power as state minister for fifteen years. She had lost to the BJP (Mody) party and sporadic violence erupted in various parts of the city and state.
Next day was the inauguration of Bekind Boys’ Home. The boys sang, danced, recited poetry and great fun was had by everyone. The Louisburgh ladies did their county proud with wonderful Irish dancing and a great rendition of “The Green and Red of Mayo” sung with pride in advance of the counties historic All Ireland GAA Final victory. Hon Mayo!
Our group went on to visit several of the Hope Foundation’s projects in Kolkata:
- Ashar Alo Girls Home where we were treated to a wonderful display of Bengali dance and art.
- A Hope-sponsored school in a slum district,
- A day centre for young children with special needs called Brian’s Way (another Brian, not me), sponsored by Butlers Chocolates.
- Hope Hospital where they witnessed the incredible work carried out by a dedicated team of medical personnel treating the poor from the street population, managed by Samiran Mallik with exceptional dedication since 2008.
Our Mayo group were to experience the work of the Hope Night Run ambulance team on its rounds tending to the needs of the street dwellers around the city. A massive thunderstorm and a deluge sent us all running for shelter that night in Nimtala Ghat on the river bank.
A visit the following day to Kalighat where the girls were to see the work of the MC Sisters treating and caring with compassion for the dying and destitute.
We packed as much into that week as possible and reluctantly said our farewells to the children and started the long journey back home to Ireland. We were delighted with the fantastic fundraising campaign which raised just over €30,000.
Many thanks again to the Principal, teachers and students from Sancta Maria College, Louisburg, County Mayo, for all their efforts in making a big difference to the Bekind Boys.
Thank you for reading and your wonderful support of Bekind also.
Warmest regards,
Brian
Brian Flanagan
Founder Director
Bekind Ireland
Upcoming Events
- We are delighted that we have not one but two supporters, Ricky Flanagan and Conor Hussey, running the Dublin Marathon for Bekind on Sunday 25 October 2026. If you would like to support them and Bekind, you can make a donation on their iDonate pages using the links above.
- SAVE THE DATE - Our Christmas Concert will take place on Friday 27 November in Castleknock Lawn Tennis Club. Tickets will go on sale closer to the date.
