Five years after we bought an old family house in the north of Kolkata, the students of Calcutta Rescue sang a song called "On the Blessed Day" when the house was officially opened as a new education center on April 15, 2024.
It has been a very long journey due to the pandemic and the convoluted building regulations, but the staff and the 350 students who will be learning and working there are absolutely delighted with their new school and marvel at the vibrant murals that cover many of the walls.

Until now, they were housed in a dark, cramped former brothel known as No. 10, where CR's founder, Dr. Jack, established his first non-formal school for slum children more than three decades ago.

The new education center is named Jack Dadur Pathashala (Grandpa Jack's School) in his honor. He unveiled a commemorative plaque at this site at the start of the renovation work in 2019, just a few days before his retirement.

The artist Sumantra Mukherjee and his team spent months working with schoolchildren on the design and these paintings will inspire many children and young people from disadvantaged families in the city.

In addition to nine classrooms, there is a library, a dining room, a staff room, a computer room and a creative games room
Our foundation covered part of the cost of buying the building, and many of you have donated to our campaign to renovate and furnish the building.

At the inauguration ceremony, Ananya Chatterjee, the head of CR's education department, thanked everyone who had donated so generously over the years to give young people from the slums a better future.