Christmas 2026: Beyond the Platform

All donations to this appeal will be doubled, thanks to match funding, until we reach our target of £66,000. Thank you for your support!

Sealdah Station, in Kolkata, India, is one of the world’s busiest railway stations, with up to 1.5 million passengers passing through every day. Amongst the commuter chaos, the station is also home to dozens of children at any time.

Some live there permanently with a parent, tucked into a corner of a platform or sleeping rough in a corridor. Others are there temporarily, arriving from across India with nowhere to go.

Far too many are alone, and for these railway station children, whether begging, working, or simply hiding, the risk of exploitation and abuse is unimaginably high. No-one knows exact numbers, because by very definition these children are overlooked, undocumented and forgotten, but agencies estimate at least 500 children stay in the station over the course of each year.

But not everyone looks away.

Since 2023, Global Care’s Kolkata partners, Emmanuel Ministries, have run a small drop-in centre in a tiny room near the toilets in the station car park.

Every day they feed breakfast to up to 35 children, 15 mums, mostly with babies, and 10 young people, all living at Sealdah station.

Railway station children can learn literacy and numeracy and enjoy art and crafts – our partners try to help children bridge learning gaps so they have a chance of success if they ever go to school. Mums join adult literacy classes, often simply to learn how to sign their names.

Welfare support ranges from working with authorities to house abandoned or runaway children, helping young people access services to fight addiction, providing counselling, hygiene kits and food parcels – even giving away umbrellas during India’s monsoons.

All this happens on a shoestring budget in a room which measures just seven feet by nine. The size of the room is not remotely adequate for the size of the task. Our partners have never had stable funding for this passion project. They desperately want a bigger centre, so they can provide better services to more children.

This Christmas, we want to raise £66,000 to expand and run this programme for three years. Your donations will help rent larger premises, fund four members of staff and cover the costs of food, educational supplies, welfare support and other extras.

Our partners say: “Through the Sealdah Drop-In Centre, children who once lived without care or opportunity now receive nutritious meals, education, guidance, counselling, and the encouragement they need to believe in a better future. Many have returned to school, improved their health or overcome harmful behaviours, and begun to dream beyond life on the railway platform.

“Today, the greatest challenge is not a lack of commitment or experience – it is the lack of space. A larger, child-friendly facility will allow us to reach more children, provide better learning opportunities, and create an environment where every child feels safe, valued, and inspired to thrive.”

Can you help us help the children of Sealdah Station this Christmas?

Every penny you donate will be doubled, thanks to match funding, until we reach our target. Please give generously.