City girl returns for charity art show

KOLKATA: It was a stroke of good luck that changed the course of Chanda Zaveri's life. If things had gone differently, she might not have been the leading molecular biologist that she is.
Two decades ago, the city girl fled home to escape a forced marriage and ended up in the US with help from friends. But instead of just thanking her good fortune, what Zaveri does is help put rescued trafficked girls back on track.Zaveri is on a visit to the city to organize a charity painting exhibition, the proceeds of which will go towards the cause.
Zaveri has been doing this work since 2013, when she got to know about a rescued girl from Murshidabad and helped enrol her in a schooling programme in the US. However, she realized that despite her good intentions and her capacity to raise funds, it will not be possible for her to help much because of her distance from Kolkata. That's when she appealed to St Xavier's Foundation to partner with her in the initiative.
"Just funding these girls was not enough. You had to have proper infrastructure to see that they would get the right education to become independent. Since St Xavier's Foundation does philanthropic work, I thought I could look for support there," Zaveri said.
She had gatecrashed into a St Xavier's College alumni meet at Los Angeles and made her appeal. "I told the principal that I would raise the funds required to help the rescued girls from NGOs in Kolkata. But Xavier's will have to take care of their education and careers. Luckily, he agreed," she recalled.
Xavier's has been helping with the girls' admissions according to their levels of proficiency. Recently, three such girls sponsored by Zaveri have got admission in St Xavier's College itself. "They matched the required merit and we took them in. You would be mistaken if you think that only girls from extremely poor backgrounds get trafficked. Girls even from advantaged backgrounds can get trapped," said Father Felix, principal of St Xavier's College.
Zaveri is in the city for an exhibition at Mirage Art Gallery in New Alipore, where leading painters have put their work on sale. The proceeds will go towards the betterment of at least 100 rescued girls.
Among the painters helping out are Dhiraj Choudhury, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Rabin Mondal, Wasim Kapoor, Samir Aich, Sanatan Dinda and Subrata Gangopadhyay. "I am happy to help out with such a cause," Kapoor said.