KOLKATA SHELTER OF HOPE

TOGETHER WE TURN A CRISIS INTO ACTION OF LOVE

LCA - Love Calcutta Arts

LCA is a small local freedom business, located in the centre of the Ram Bagan red light district in Kolkata, India, which fights against the sexual exploitation of people in prostitution. They provide safe workplaces where women can work with dignity and freedom, along with schooling for the worker’s children.

25 women are currently working for LCA. Priya and Sapna, two extraordinary women, are leading this work and have been able to create jobs for over 42 women in the past five years.

Current status and unresolved situation:
In the area of Ram Bagan, when women or kids experience violence, there is nowhere that they can go for emergency help. The LCA building is much more than a small business, it provides a place where women can go to seek advice on a regular basis, but it’s very hard to keep it sustainable due to limited space. When women have no safe space to go to, Priya gives them her bed to sleep in, but they are lacking a long term solution to provide a private and protected space for them to stay for a few nights.

ACTION PLAN

Step 1 - There are two tenants in the basement of the building, who are consuming drugs and alcohol, which threatens the security of the people who work and/or live in the building. With the help of lawyers, we aim to get them moved out.

Step 2 - To renovate these two flats, consisting of four rooms altogether, to be able to provide  emergency shelter for women and children.

Step 3 - Introduce the space to the neighbourhood and to employ one person to work full time for one year as project manager.

OUR GOAL

To make sure that the house will provide a safe space for LCA and a place of refuge for kids and women from the neighbourhood. 

This space will be led by Priya and Sapna, two women who are fully accepted by the community. Additionally we will start working with Changing Destiny to help kids from the red light district to get school sponsorships so that they can get out of this dangerous and exploitative environment.

Cup of Color will take responsibility for the money being used as intended and will work closely with the people on the ground. After that we will review the situation and adjust our support according to the needs. After one year, this place should be a self-running community space, supported by the voluntary work of the LCA women and people from the neighbourhood.

47’700 CHF

target

ESTIMATED BUDGET (CHF)

A: 20,000 - Renovation of basement with 4 rooms (including fixing the pipes and ceiling of one room)

B: 800 - Repair Toilet and Washroom

C: 3,000 - Lawyer's fees

D: 5,000 - Payment for tenants to leave the building

E: 600 - Electricity and water supply for the first year

F: 2,400 - Materials and furniture for the shelter

G: 5,400 - Salary for a 100% project manager (450 CHF per month for 1 year)

H: 10,500 - Project coordination by Cup of Color (1 Year + 1 follow up visit)

HOW TO DONATE

Cup of Color, Witzbergstrasse 3, CH-8330 Pfäffikon ZH, Switzerland
Bank: Zürcher Kantonalbank, Postfach, 8010 Zürich, Switzerland
IBAN: CH68 0070 0114 8025 9975 5
BIC/SWIFT: ZKBKCHZZ80A
Payment reference: Kolkata Shelter of Hope
Contact: Rahel Lam | +41 775235134 | INFO@CUPOFCOLOR.ORG

WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR:

Cup of Color has been connected with LCA since 2016. We did two community art projects with them in 2020 and 2023 (see video below). During the Covid pandemic we fundraised over 30,000 CHF to make sure that the wages could be paid out and the women were not being put back in dangerous situations. Last year we fundraised 45,000 CHF to renovate many parts of the building and create a mural with the community.

Video and photos from our last project, where we painted the building of LCA with more than 70 women and children from the neighbourhood in the Ram Bagan red light district in Nov-Dec 2023.

who we are

WE PAINT HOPE

Through participatory work with diverse communities, Cup of Color creates murals that are relevant to people, and that are connected to their lives and environment. Together, we transform gray walls into walls of hope and give communities and individuals a voice, allowing them to be heard and seen. When diverse people actively participate in shaping their environment, it significantly enhances their self-esteem, resolves trauma, connects them, demonstrates ways to resolve conflict, strengthens their sense of being part of the community, and actively helps them take control of their life.

As an organisation we always work very closely with the community, listen to their needs, ensure that they have full ownership and foster long-term responsibility. We also empower local people by building trust, strength and resilience.

Rahel & Damon Lam,
Founders of CUP OF COLOR

Contact: +41 77 523 51 30 | info@cupofcolor.org