Since 2023, we’ve been proudly partnering with Future Hope, an organization in Kolkata committed to giving vulnerable children access to education, healthcare, shelter, safety, and opportunity.
Every night in Kolkata, many children sleep on the streets or in overcrowded slums. They are often undernourished, unprotected, and with very little chance to break out of the cycle of poverty. In India, it can take seven generations for a member of a poor family to reach an average income. Future Hope’s mission is to break this cycle by providing children with accredited education, safe housing, mentorship, sports, and the chance to build a brighter future.
Future Hope was founded in 1987 by Tim Grandage, an English banker transferred to Kolkata for HSBC. Moved by the realities faced by street children, he began inviting them into his own home. Within a short time, 35 children were sleeping on the floor of his flat, eating regular meals, and receiving the care they desperately needed.
What started as an act of compassion soon became a full-time mission. Grandage left his banking job to establish Future Hope as a dedicated charity. Today, more than 35 years later, Future Hope has supported over 3,000 children across Kolkata.
Each year, we work closely with Future Hope to identify their most urgent needs and direct our support where it can create immediate and lasting impact.
Our first year of partnership focused on helping children in Future Hope’s primary school classes, strengthening the foundation of their learning journey.
In 2024, O My Bag funded 11 new computers, now used daily by students for schoolwork and digital learning. Teachers shared how quickly the children are developing new skills and how transformative this access to technology has been.
When we learned that the kitchen at Future Hope School was in urgent need of renovation, we stepped in right away to ensure the work could begin without hesitation. We dedicated the cause of our Better Friday sale to supporting this essential refurbishment and to keep the kitchen running for the years to come.
The newly rebuilt kitchen now provides a safe, clean environment where healthy, nourishing meals are prepared each day for more than 400 children and 50 staff members. A team of six cooks prepares around 130 kg of rice and 250 kg of vegetables every week!
