Human Development Through Love and Service
Our Integrated Community Development Intervention is delivered across three domains- Mother and Child Healthcare, Education and Vocational Guidance and The Livelihood and Entrepreneurship.
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Hayden Hall Institute is a non-profit started by Fr. Edgar Burns SJ in 1969 and is driven by its legacy of compassion- Human Development through Love and Service. We work in the areas of Mother and child Healthcare, Education and Vocational Guidance and Livelihood and Entrepreneurship under its flagship intervention- The Integrated Community Development Intervention. We work across Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri impacting over 5000+ families directly on an annual basis. We are able to do this through our 48 after school study centers and 13 Community Development Centres with 66 community development workers and 76 teachers. These communities that we work with are among migrants, tribals, tea garden workers, porters and manual labourers as well as communities in remote villages.
In the year 1967 Hayden Hall Institute worked towards the wellbeing of our society, the then team looked at the empowerment of women in our community to be the utmost need of the hour and started programs like Mother and Child Health Care, Adult literacy, Livelihood and income generation. They saw and felt the need and thus Hayden Hall multiplied from Darjeeling to Kalimpong, from the sub-urban township of Darjeeling to the rural communities of Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The work never stopped thereafter and 52 years later here we are with improved technology, enhanced skills and infrastructure but with the same vision of enabling women who are now not only the recipients but also our change makers. We at the moment have 48 study Centers, 13 sub- centers, 66 women community development workers and 76 teachers, 48 women in livelihood and Entrepreneurs who are in the forefront of implementation.
As we look at the work we do now, it is categorized into 3 broad headings:
Making a bag is simple but weaving threads that lead to change does take time. The stories and experiences that we get to witness inside the work space has inspired many of us to start and empower self and the others around us. While weaving and creating bags, our women are weaving stories of change.
The women working with us are such change makers. They might not be seen or heard in a global platform, but they’ve inspired us. Deciding to work to support themselves and their families have got them this far where they are self-reliant and on the process of being empowered.
If you ever get the chance to visit our office in Darjeeling, don’t hesitate to drop by and witness the art of creating with these young and old hands as they weave stories of change.
Here is another story of grit and courage shown by some women members of a certain village in Kalimpong district.
The village MR shop was at a distance and to walk every week to collect ration was a task not only for the old bones but also the young men and women as carrying heavy ration and walking back home was exhausting.The CDW along with the SHG women formed a group and wrote a petition which consisted of the names and signatures of all the villagers to support the cause of changing the location of the MR shop or planting a new MR shop which would be convenient for all. The petition was forwarded to the BDO, SDO and the DM’s office after which also they did continual visits and acts of reaching out. The group also made sure that the local supplier and the local party receive the copy and would agree with their terms.
Finally, after two months of continuous visits and follow ups, the concerned office personnel came to the village and agreed on planting a sub-center in the village. Now they have a sub-center in their village through which the entire community has benefitted. The joint effort of some people became the voices of the villagers. With grit, courage and constant effort, the burden of the entire village has been lifted up. So much for speaking up and taking charge.
On the 25th of January 2019, one of our mothers of Hayden Hall’s Mother and Child Health program in a village 15km away from Darjeeling town suffered a miscarriage. One of our Community Development Worker(CDW) working in the area went to support her. During her discussions with the mother, it came to light that the reasons for her miscarriage were work load, negligence and the burden of the family. Over the next few months, the CDW spent time with the family on counseling and health related issues. After about six months, the woman conceived again and the CDW was there to support the family with counseling, immunization at Hayden Hall clinic and even got her registered in the hospital for medical support for a safe delivery. All these events of courage and compassion supported the family to overcome the trauma of a lost child and be able to deliver a healthy baby.
