A Local Story of Hope

[Nityam Ghosh]

When I asked 21-year-old sister Nigita Kharia from the Bhatpara B Nichhe Line area about a proud moment in her life, she said—

A West Bengal government "Duare Sarkar Government" camp was held in our block from 15/06/2026 to 17/06/2026. I went there to apply for some issues related to my household. The camp offered services such as ration cards, health cards, old-age pension, widow pension, job cards, farmer cards, ST/SC/OBC certificates, Ujjwala gas applications, toilet applications, and more.

I noticed many people from our village had also come. I helped everyone fill out their forms. Keeping our community’s dream in mind—that when problems arise, everyone helps each other—and from a sense of humanity, I also filled out various application forms for people from nearby villages and gave them complete information about which documents were needed and how to apply.

I also saw that although water was coming from a tap near the block office, there was no vessel for drinking. I bought a new bottle for myself and left it by the tap so anyone could easily drink and water would not be wasted.

This was a small step toward our village’s dream and it gave me peace of heart. This is my proudest story.

I observed many beautiful qualities in Nigita and appreciated her for:

Good communication skills.

A heartfelt understanding of other people’s problems.

Efforts to realize the village’s dreams.

A caring attitude towards everyone.

As a SALT facilitator I learned how to motivate people, recognize their strengths, and find solutions through community cooperation.

About children:

I think children should be educated, focus on their studies, and remain disciplined. This will awaken the spirit of helping others in them and they will come forward to serve society. Some of our older children are disciplined, but many children need to learn how to speak respectfully to elders.

Youth:

The youth in our village are of two kinds—some are studying and trying to build careers (in government or private sectors), and some are only focused on earning money. We need to guide the youth correctly so that everyone can develop holistically.

About the community:

Our community should live together in unity. The real strength of a community lies in "everyone together, everyone’s development"—understanding problems, getting to their root, and finding solutions together. This is both our greatest need and our biggest challenge.

What went well during today’s conversation and why?

Sister Nigita said— I had discussed our village with you before, and today while helping at the block office I again enjoyed advancing the same goal and dream. This experience is very close to my heart.

What could have been done better?

If everyone had sat together and discussed more, things would have been even better—more people would have received information and work would have been more organized.

Observation:

Nigita’s ideas are very good and inspiring for the community.