Kolkata Relief is a highly effective and radically transparent non-profit which cares for homeless and slum families of Kolkata, India. Welcome to our website.
Protecting the Poor
We’ve partnered with Little Big Help, a Kolkata and Copenhagen based non-profit which share our values of efficiency and transparency and have developed the follwing COVID-19 Prevention Kit to distribute in the slums.
COVID-19 PREVENTION KIT
– Two Pieces of Soap
– Five Masks (made by local slum initiative)
– 1Kg of Detergent
– 250ml Hand Sanitizer.
The price of one of these relief kits, is about 300 rupees (€3.50) and protects an entire family. As usual, 100% of your donations go towards purchasing these life-saving items. You can make a real difference by creating a monthly donation for as little as a chewing-gum per day. Thank you for caring!
Kolkata Relief started in 2017 with the delivery of a single tarp to protect a homeless family from the rain. We still deliver these tarps which act as roofing and protection for the families and the few objects they own. Watch the first family we ever helped.
We provide a first aid kit complete with antiseptic liquid, bandages, band-aids, medical tape and sterilized gauze. All essential to prevent small wounds, bites and scratches from infecting towards disease and amputation. Watch the first aid kit video.
Every kit contains an XL mosquito-net which protects an entire family from malaria, dengue and other insect-related diseases. Apart from the medical benefits, the mosquito net also provides an additional layer of comfort and security.
In order to combat illiteracy and provide street children with a better chance of entering school, we distribute a waterproof book with basic Maths, English, Bengali, and Health Skills such as the life-saving skill of washing one’s hands before eating.
Cost of each relief kit, including delivery:
€5
For the price of a warm drink you can save an entire family from rain, malaria, dengue, wound infection, and illiteracy.
Feeding the Poor
Daily wagers all around India are in risk of famine due to the lockdown. We’ve partnered with Little Big Help, a Kolkata and Copenhagen based non-profit which shares our values of efficiency and transparency and with whom we have been distributing the follow relief kit in Kolkata’s slums:
COVID-19 FOOD AND HYGIENE KIT
– 4Kg of Rice
– 2Kg of Potatoes
– 1Kg of Lentils
– One Hand Sanitizer or Soap
The average price of THREE of these relief kits, which is enough food for 3 people for a week, is about 700 rupees (€10). As usual, 100% of your donations go towards purchasing these life-saving items. You can make a real difference by creating a monthly donation for as little as a chewing-gum per day. Thank you for caring!
Monthly, High-Impact Giving.
Our goal is to have 150 monthly donors in our fantastic community of Homeless Heroes before the end of the year.
If you’re one of the first 150 and stay onboard for at least a year you’ll be awarded the lifetime status of Kolkata Pioneer – a special group which will go down in history as our first supporters. The world needs people who not only feel kindness and empathy, but who also know that saving lives takes meaningful action. Our Homeless Heroes tend to be both. 
SINGLE FAMILY HEROES
Single Family Heroes help a homeless family every month. This tier was built thinking of kids whose parents might want to teach them the joys of donating a small amount, making the world a better place, and witnessing their impact. (€5/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on chewing gum.
DOUBLE FAMILY HEROES
Double Family Heroes help two homeless families every month and are awesome. This tier was built mostly thinking about students who can identify that 33cents per day won’t make a big difference in their amazing lives. (€10/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on biscuits.
EURO CLUB
Our most popular choice. In the Euro Club what you’re doing is simple, easy, and quite beautiful – a single Euro per day helps a homeless family every week. We recommend this tier for young adults just getting into the workforce.
(€30/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on coffee.
See more tiers
NIFTY FIFTY
Our Nifty Fifty club are amazing humans who help ten families every month for less than the price of a soup. Ever heard a story of disgrace about someone who was too generous to non-profits? Us neither! It’s all about giving according to what you can honestly do without! (€50/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on nightlife and drinks.
KOLKATA UNICORNS
Kolkata Unicorns rock (all our patrons do). They help a homeless family every two days. We might be tempted to say that unicorns are really generous – they are – but when you think about it €2.50 per day is actually quite doable for most people working in first world countries.(€75/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on tourism.
TRUE BOSSES
You guessed it – at this tier every night you go to bed proud for having donated enough to help one of the poorest families in the world. Every day will be charged with meaning. True Bosses give €5 a day and understand it doesn’t have any significant impact on their quality of life. (€150/month)
Reference: This is how much our average donor spends on eating out.
Any questions?
A monthly plan boosts the impact of every donation. It allows for better planning, sustainable growth, and generally doing more good in the world. For the highest impact, consider monthly donations – even if that means a smaller amount! You’re always free to cancel. If you still wish to make a one-time donation you can do so here. Thank you for your kindness. 
A monthly plan boosts the impact of every donation. It allows for better planning, sustainable growth, and generally doing more good. For the highest impact, consider monthly donations – even if that means a smaller amount! You’re always free to cancel. If you still wish to make a one-time donation you can do so here. Thank you for your kindness!
A Holistic Approach
Another project we are proud to run together with Little Big Help is a community center which addresses a variety of humanitarian & development issues.
1) EDUCATION
Less child labour, more school.
Perhaps the best gift one can give a child is the ability to read and write.
Many children in slum areas have never been to school. This is typically because their parents do not understand the importance of education. Through our Community Centres, both the children and their parents learn the importance of education, prepare for enrolment in school, and with your help another street child just might one day graduate from university.
2) SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH
Playing into trust.
For many slum children, the idea of sitting down to learn is a novelty. Most have spent their lives working or begging and have had intense emotional and social lives. Through fun and games the children learn to enjoy the community center where they receive a meal a day, and are taught about rights and personal hygiene. Our community center also runs about 80 individual and group counselling sessions per year.
3) FEMALE EMPOWERMENT
Rights, Skills and Sex Education
A society’s progress can largely be measured by the state of its women. Our community centres empower women (and some men) with new skills which provide a new source of income and independence. Adolescents receive sexual health lessons to reduce early and unwanted pregnancies and to promote good menstrual hygiene. Youth from the slums who are still in school are trained to be Change Agents (role models) and together with club members these youth replicate the positive changes at community level and take on leading roles.
Effective Altruism is a philosophy and rapidly growing movement about doing the most good possible. Effective altruists use both heart and mind in order to support cost-effective, sustainable and transparent interventions to improve the world. At Kolkata Relief we're effective altruists - you're probably one too. Watch the video and find out.
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Homeless in Kolkata
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Kits Delivered So Far
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Make a Difference
I'm not rich enough.
Some people believe we can should all help each other out in life. Others believe only the richest 10% should help. Do you agree? Click below to find out how rich you are! You might be surprised at just how lucky you are.
I don't feel a moral obligation.
Moral philosophy is beautifully complicated. At Kolkata Relief we don't believe in making people feel bad about not giving. The quiz below makes some good arguments though! Worst case scenario you'll learn some nice philosophy.
We used to be donors too.
That’s why we’ve had two main driving forces since day one.
Efficiency and Transparency
When it comes to knowing what happened to your donation we want to be the most comfortable and crystal-clear non-profit you’ve ever been involved with.
At Kolkata Relief transparency will always be our middle name. You can view the spreadsheets below for purchasing and delivery costs of the early years, detailed until the very last penny. Feel free to ask us any questions, we’re a message away and eager to help 🙂 For more recent years feel free to explore our financial reports here: 2020 | 2021
2017 Spreadsheet
2018 Spreadsheet
2019 Spreadsheet
At Kolkata Relief we conduct research regarding the pavement and slum dwellers of the city. Apart from registering each family, their size, GPS coordinates and other basic information, we are also getting to know their greatest problems in life, average income per day, occupation, education levels, and many other data points soon to be published. This also allows us to follow-up each family we have helped and measure the durability and real impact of our intervention.
Click the map above to see all our open-source data!
What You Can Do
Consider for a moment how lucky we are for being born into conditions far better than the homeless of India. For only €5 per month you can make an enormous difference in another human being’s life.
We guarantee full transparency, full accountability, and share every step of the way with our supporters. Click here to donate – the world needs your kindness today!
IBAN: PT50001000005726623000158
SWIFT: BBPIPTPL
Bank name: Banco BPI
Rua Tenente Valadim, 284, 4100-476 Porto
donations@kolkatar.org
Help us get the word out! Share our Facebook and Instagram content. If your sharing results in donations then that’s a high impact action at no financial cost whatsoever. If you are an influencer of any kind, whether amongst your close friends or for an entire country, then this is an opportunity for you to influence people for good. Roll up your sleeves and let’s get going! After all, you just might save a life.
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Win a Sitar Concert
If you raise more than €500 within your community you win a free Sitar concert as a gesture of thanks from our founder, Tomás Magalhães. This could be your school, your company or even your charitable group of friends! We kindly ask that you assist with travel and accommodation. Use your talents to start a fundraiser in your community, help 100 street families who need our help, and win a free sitar concert along the way.
It’s a win-win-win.
Our Team
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Our corporate sponsors allow us to grow sustainably. They help pay for running and administrative costs. This is what keeps the price of helping a family so low! We also give them some very cool stuff in return. We’re looking for more, let’s talk!