Education
Schools, a library and learning support for children from rag picker and slum families.
Tiljala Society for Human
and Educational Development
Standing with rag pickers and slum communities
Education, skills and rights since 1987, especially for women and children.
-
As featured on Beast Philanthropy
- 39 Years of Impact
- 770 Children in class every day
-
Top-Ranked on GlobalGiving 2026
- 990+ Girls in our library
- 30,000+ People reached with food aid
- FCRA Registered since 1994
- 80G Tax deduction for Indian donors
- 39 Years of impact
- 770 Children in class every day
- 990+ Girls in our library
- 3 Programs: education, livelihood, rights
Who we are
Standing with rag picker families since 1987
Tiljala SHED works with Kolkata's rag picker and slum communities, especially women and children, so they can claim education, a living and their rights.
Read how a few young people from Tiljala started a classroom in 1987, and what grew from it.Trusted and verified
Trusted by GlobalGiving
GlobalGiving makes it easy and safe to give to local projects anywhere in the world, while giving nonprofits the tools, training and support they need to thrive. Tiljala SHED is one of its Top-Ranked, Vetted and Effective organisations for 2026.
Learn more
Featured by Beast Philanthropy
1 December 2024. Beast Philanthropy told the story of Kolkata's rag picker families and our work with them.
“We Rescued Kids Living in a Garbage Dump”, on YouTube. It loads when you press play.
What we do
What we do
Three programs, one aim: a life with dignity for every family we work with.
-
-
Livelihood
Skills training and work for young people and women.
-
Rights & Entitlements
Helping families get documents, services and the support they are entitled to.
Ways in
Four ways to get to know us
Hear people in their own words, watch their neighbourhoods, read their stories, or back a project.
to voices in Bengali, Hindi and Urdu
Start here New to Tiljala SHED? Start with who we are and how we began in 1987. Who we are
Our library
A library of our own
Since 2008 the Gyan Azhar Library has given girls from Tiljala's crowded homes a quiet place to study. Former members look back on what it changed.
Read about our education work
Short videos
Watch
Rag picker and slum community families tell their own stories, in their own words.
View all video stories
Support our mission
Projects
Every gift goes to a named project, and every project reports back.
View all projectsGive to our work
From India: UPI, cards and net banking, with an 80G tax receipt by email.
Donors outside India give through GlobalGiving, as Indian law (FCRA) requires.
- Livelihood
Tailoring skills for 50 girls in Kolkata
A tailoring course that gives young women a trade and an income of their own.
Donate to Tailoring skills for 50 girls in Kolkata - Rights & Entitlements
Emergency food and medicine for Kolkata's poorest
Dry rations and medicines for families who have nothing to fall back on.
Donate to Emergency food and medicine for Kolkata's poorest - Livelihood
Alternative livelihoods for 500 rag picker families
Skills training and help to start small businesses, so families can earn a living away from the waste dumps.
Donate to Alternative livelihoods for 500 rag picker families
Our journey
Timeline
Explore 39 years of Tiljala SHED
Select a year to see what happened
From the blog
Blog
The latest projects, programs and announcements from Tiljala SHED.
View all blog posts
Qumrun, the changemaker of Topsia
Qumrun, a daughter of a single mother. Her father left them when qumrun was still very young. She cant recall her father's face. But her...
Anjum, an inspiration in Topsia
Anjum,17, resides beside the canal sewage in Mazdoorpara, Topsia with her family of five. Her father does cleaning work in a factory. Life...
Taekwondo is changing young lives
These children come from the Topsia Squatter Community – a strip of land between 2 sewage canals. They are among the poorest and most...
Tabassum leads the way in her slum community
Tabassum resides in the densely populated Mochi para. Her father is a cycle rickshaw driver. Her mother works as a maid servant and earns...
Laxmi leads the way in her community
Laxmi, 23, stays with her family in Kolkata slums beside the railway tracks. Her father Rajkumar sells street food, and her mother is a...
Zeenat is almost there.
Zeenat has always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. She has defied all the prejudice and the cultural expectations that she will marry young and...
Why we exist
Our Mission
To empower the most marginalised, especially women and children, to act together and claim their human rights.
In their words
What people say about Tiljala SHED
Volunteers and visitors, on video
-
Micheal Halmbacher Germany
-
Rowan Diaz America
-
Guilia Meta Italy
Videos load from YouTube when you press play.
-
What strikes you in Kolkata is the power of life, the energy TSHED staff and their beneficiaries spend every day to improve this reality and help the next person.
Sébastien Haye Managing Consultant, E4Tech, Switzerland -
The devotion of teachers in some of the girls' schools in particular was deeply affecting, since they were giving their services often for very small reward.
Jeremy Seabrook English author and journalist, United Kingdom -
I am in awe of what they have accomplished and I shall continue to support them in their efforts. It is my human duty to do so.
Lee-Alison Sibley Educator, writer and performer, USA
Featured by and working with
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- AIDOS
- Misereor
- Indien Kinderhilfe
