Across its three centres, DSS Kolkata now supports 300 children aged 3 to 18, through its Child Welfare and Development Programme.
Learning, nutrition and recreational activities come together to provide each child with the holistic care they need to learn, grow and
thrive.
But what these children didn’t have was reliable healthcare close to home.
So in July 2026 DSS took the first step at its Tangra Community Centre.
It organised an awareness session so that families could understand and participate in the initiative from the very beginning.
With their involvement and encouragement, a weekly healthcare day for the students was started.
But the team soon realised that the surrounding slum community is densely populated and there are
no other free or affordable health facilities in the vicinity.
So it was decided to open the clinic to all slum dwellers. Now, once a week a doctor is based in the centre, vital signs are checked, consultations are provided, and medicines are dispensed free of
Santanu Roychowdhury, who oversees the healthcare programme: “It is heartening to see how
warmly the community has accepted the initiative.”
By October 2026, the programme had registered 348 patients from the surrounding community.
Each new registration represents more than a number. It reflects a family choosing timely medical care and a community growing more confident about its health.
With continued support, we hope to strengthen this initiative and bring dependable healthcare closer
for many more children and families.