Thirteen CR students are well on their way to becoming qualified nurses, having just started a one-year advanced nursing course.
They came together in March to celebrate after they had all successfully completed one-year basic training courses in nursing. When the young women, aged between 17 and 20, graduate, they will easily find work in private hospitals. They will start with a starting salary of 15,000 Indian rupees per month (about 160 Swiss francs) - three to five times what a day laborer or domestic help would earn, said Tuli, CR's training manager.
This will make a significant difference to their families and help to improve their lives and lift them out of poverty. Tuli has been trying to get CR students interested in nursing for several years, not least because there has been a boom in the healthcare sector in India in recent years, with many new hospitals and a great demand for qualified staff.
In addition, Calcutta Rescue is primarily a medical NGO and needs high quality, motivated nurses for the various clinics.
People who have grown up in the slums where CR works and have benefited from its education program would be ideal candidates, and Calcutta Rescue hopes to hire some of its own students in the future.
One of the students, Babita Mira, said: "I come from a very poor family who might not have even had the opportunity to study if the Calcutta Rescue teachers had not been here to help me.
As I grew up, I learned more about Dr. Jack and his work. Being a doctor requires so much study that I couldn't do it. But with a career in nursing, I can still help people. I dream of working with Calcutta Rescue in the future if I get the chance."
Nursing is now the most popular training course at CR, and as the courses are subsidized by the government, CR only pays around CHF 25 per student for their training - far less than we pay for most other courses. It is hoped that this group will inspire many other students to pursue a career in nursing in the years to come.