I decided to discover India when I was 21 and I landed in Kolkata with eyes and ears wide open. I was welcomed by TSHED staff, who took me with them in their daily work and showed me the reality of millions of underprivileged childen, women and men thriving in Kolkata’s slums. It is hard to believe life can be so hard when you come from a well off family in a rich country.

But what amazed me most was not the misrey they lived in, or death or diseases. What strikes you in Kolkata is the power of life, it is the energy TSHED staff and their beneficiaries are spending every day to improve this reality and help the next man.
Their countless efforts, stamina and motivation taught me the most important lesson of my life: there is always hope and there can always be a smile, even in the dullest places.

It takes some courage and determination, probably beyond what most Europeans are able to deploy, but it works. These weeks I spent watching TSHED changed my life forever and I can never be grateful enough for the enrichment they brought into my existence. TSHED staff and all social workers in India and abroad deserve our praises and admiration.