Celebrating Graduates and New Opportunities

Future Hope is celebrating the success of many students who are graduating from university and stepping into professional careers. Each young person’s success is a triumph, and the number of graduates grows every year. This year, over 40 students are enrolling in university courses, with 120 now being supported in higher education. Future Hope’s alumni include lawyers, bankers, engineers, seafarers, nurses and hoteliers to name but a few. One former slum child now heads Europe and the Middle East for a Japanese Bank in London whilst another is a senior chef in a boutique Chateau in Burgundy!

Skills Training Expands to Reach Hundreds More

In Barrackpore, Future Hope’s skills training centre is doubling its capacity, increasing from 300 to 700 students annually across 11 different courses. These young people come from underprivileged backgrounds and now have the chance to gain valuable skills (Smart Phone Repair, Computer Software and Hardware, Beauticians, Two Wheeler and four Wheeler Technicians, and Hospitality) to gain decent work, helping to support their families and secure a better future.

Adventure in North Bengal: Stepping Outside the City

For many of Future Hope’s children, leaving Kolkata is a rare experience. During the holidays, 30 students ventured on an adventure trip to Saraswatipur, an overnight train ride away, to visit Future Hope’s Khelo Rugby community. This was a unique chance for underprivileged city children to experience rural life, staying in humble teagarden homes, sampling new foods, trekking through forests to spot wild elephants, and observing migratory birds on boat trips.

Learning to Care for the Environment

Future Hope continues to teach its students about the importance of environmental stewardship. Through projects like ‘Garbage Free India’ and hands-on experiences in Kolkata’s wetlands, students are learning how they can make a difference. From organic kitchen gardening to biodiversity studies, the children are gaining knowledge that will benefit both their communities and the environment.

Rugby: Building Skills and Representing India

Rugby remains a core part of life at Future Hope. Through the Khelo Rugby programme, nearly 3,000 children participate in weekly sessions, developing their skills and confidence. This past year, 15 Future Hope players represented India at various levels, and two of their girls are currently in Japan, competing for the national team. Both men’s and women’s teams recently took home the Calcutta Cup, an achievement that filled everyone at Future Hope with pride.

Building for the Future

Future Hope is also embarking on an exciting project: the construction of a new school campus on the 24 acres that it now owns. With boarding houses and sports fields, this development will allow the charity to expand from 400 to 750 students, offering even more children the opportunity to unlock their potential. Learn more about this initiative by visiting: Future Hope - Building for the Future. To see a pictorial view of the plans to build for the future with a new purpose-built campus on our land at Rajarhat you can click here for the details or watch a video tour of the new school design here.

Future Hope has recently released 8 podcasts about the story of Future Hope over the last 37 years

Here are the links to “Hope Within The Mango Trees”. The complete story of Future Hope; from humble beginnings back in the 1980s through to the thriving present day of bright futures and lives transformed! The narrator is one of Future Hope's own alumni, Nikhat, who has a degree in Journalism and is working in a health clinic as a manager whilst also doing a Masters.

Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hope-within-the-mango-trees/id1738066386

Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/4H5LcHMMuiHasMtekCNMj4?si=4957b445ff484b1d

Amazon:  https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/370a8947-6ae8-472c-aeb1-6c28029598bc/hope-within-the-mango-trees

Deezer:  https://www.deezer.com/en/show/1000800162

How You Can Help

There are many ways to get involved with Future Hope. Volunteers, particularly those on gap years, are encouraged to bring their skills, time, and energy to support the children for six months. For more information, please email tim@futurehope.net.