Our Journey

Turnstone Global is a not for profit voluntary developmental Organization working with relentless effort for overall improvement of human lives irrespective of age, gender, religious beliefs, cast or ethnic origin. Although the Organization was formed and started working six decades back, it was duly registered in 1990 under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act 1961; bearing Registration number S/66381 dated 20th November, 1990. The Organization was subsequently registered under sections 12A and 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961. The organization is also registered under FCRA to receive donations in foreign currency. In 2014 – 2015, Turnstone Global successfully obtained ISO 9001:2008 certification in the scope of Social Service – Education, Health, Disability Care, and Skill Development.

Initially, focus of the Organization was to serve the people with Visual Impairment. However, experience at ground level revealed that in addition to suffering from visual impairment, the same person may suffer from multiple disabilities. To address the developmental needs of such persons, it is essential to provide the much needed support to them who are suffering with other types of disability. Thus in addition to serve the Visual Impairment, gradually people suffering from other types of disability were also accommodated in the Organization’s programs.

However, disability is not the only aspect which prevents development of our society. There are plenty of other issues which prevent overall development of our society. Poverty, lack of proper health facilities, lack of education and awareness, lack of employment and income opportunity are only a few to name. In addition to addressing the issues with development of persons with disability, it is equally important to address these issues for a holistic development of the society we live in.

With this agenda in mind, Turnstone Global further expanded its horizon to include programs on economic empowerment, health care, community development and so on. Work has spread to almost all districts of West Bengal and other States of Eastern India including states of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the East and the state of Punjab in North. In West Bengal alone, the Organization works in over 600 villages under 31 Gram Panchayets in 16 districts. At any given point of time, more than eleven thousand beneficiaries are on regular role of the Organization.

The Organization undertakes programs and plans its activities based on field level in-depth analysis of the demography and socioeconomic condition of the project area. Our endeavor to directly involve Community Based Organizations in our project areas in all aspects starting from project planning to implementation, monitoring and constant evaluation makes our programs unique. Thus success follows naturally.

Recently with understanding the need of the community and by shouldering responsibility with government we started revamping our program and started skill development, livelihood generation, new job creation, innovation in handicraft, entrepreneurship development, microfinance empowering self-help group are just name a few.

Turnstone Global works to bring about change in the lives of children, young people and vulnerable individuals. We educate children, provide healthcare and train young people and women in skills to earn their livelihood with self-respect.

Our force of 120 staff, more than 500 volunteers and networking partners work in 11 states, 24 cities and 200 Gram Panchayats in India with its headquarter in Kolkata, through 62 programs and community-based services.

With a modest beginning of serving a few beneficiaries from the backyard of a rented accommodation decades back, today the Organization has grown to a commendable force having its own infrastructure facilities in providing education, healthcare, livelihood skills, generate employment and so on. In fact, the list would be exhaustive. However, the Organization is constantly on the look-out for new opportunities and turn this exhaustive list to inexhaustible. The journey has not been and will never be smooth. However, our zeal and commitment makes us unstoppable

Education

Enriched with decades of experience to work for the wholesome development of society, Turnstone Global has a dedicated wing for EDUCATION. We, at Turnstone Global believe that no society can be developed from its core without proper education. Society has many deviations and turning points to have proper and quality education. At various points, sections, strata we have various options and points to deliver education to the mass.

Followings are the working lines of us-

• Remedial Coaching centres at Basanti Colony, Sodhpur ,Kharda, Kolkata & Belabahal, Purulia in West Bengal for slum children and rural students respectively.
• Formal middle school at Satghoria, Malda for the marginalized below poverty line students’ up to age group 10.
• Formal middle school at Belabahal, Purulia for the marginalized below poverty line students’ up to age group 10.
• Residential training on Competitive examination and extra-curricular classes at Matigara, Siliguri in West Bengal.
• NGO Management classes to train the future generation targeted to the +2 passed out students from district level in both residential and non- residential format.
• Scholarships, books, stationaries for the students who are poor but meritorious to pursue their higher education. A special division to assist the specially enabled students with readers and writers along with the scholarships are being offered. Presently in this program 256 students are being enrolled.
• Providing large print books of all subjects (according to syllabus of Ministry of School Education) to the Government Schools to assist the low vision students across West Bengal with the active participation of Sarva Shiksha Mission, West Bengal. Also ensuring the mechanism of Sarva Shiksha Mission for the students to attend the schools in active manner through proper psychological counselling and to support the students in special need to arrange the devices of hearing impaired and visually challenged. At the same time, providing the legal and administrative guidelines to gain the social support system to the students of special need.
• Production and distribution of Braille and audio books in Kolkata for the visually challenged students.
• Establishment of Braille press in Agartala, Tripura.
• Development and testing of standardized assistive devices and development of new software for the ease of persons with disability.
• Free hostel facility at Siliguri for blind students pursuing higher education.
• Turnstone Global creates digital literacy under National Digital Literacy Mission in Mizoram.
• Physically Challenged corner at Birchandra State Library, Agartala.
• Braille Audio Digital Library at Calcutta University.

Health

Turnstone Global is an up keeping name in the health industry with a vision of changing lives of the people who are suffering from different ailments. As a part of our overall program the organization has always been concerned about the health issues of rural and urban population with the approach of preventive, prompt and curative health care. In spite of state approach to meet the basic aspects of health care a large number of population remained unaware about their health concerns and poor delivery of health services compelled them to remain beyond the reach of proper health needs. Poor living condition, hazardous working environment, rampant use of pesticides, food habits, unhealthy lifestyle, increasing cost of treatment, all are contributing towards ill health which in turn affecting the economic status of the family by incurring a great loss of productive manpower.

As a result the population get entangled in a vicious circle from which it becomes very difficult to come out. Considering the overall scenario Turnstone Global is engaged in extending services among this population facilitating them in having a positive health seeking behavior by understanding their basic health needs and helping them to live a healthy functional life.

Following are the interventions made by the organization:

• Eradication of preventable Blindness.
• Provide treatment facilities to the underprivileged for diseases like AIDS, Renal Failure, etc.
• Under the umbrella of Turnstone Global we started the project (Touching the Life) that is Health for All.
• We feed vitamin A oil and Albendazole to all children below five years.
• We treat the hearing impaired person and give them hearing aids.
• We do eye screening camps and operate them with best available technology.
• We run subsidized rate hospital at Chowhatta, Birbhum, West Bengal.
• We do awareness on infectious diseases such as HIV and Dengue.
• We do general and orthopedic camps.
• Care of the aged and elderly.
• Corporate Camps- We conduct corporate camps to assess their basic health such as label of diabetes, blood pressure, BMI etc. apart from general health we also do eye camps, physiotherapy camp etc.
• School Camps-To assess the label of basic health throughout the year we organize camps in schools. We are happy to share even we have located different problems such as poor vision, stammering, learning difficulty etc. in most renowned schools of the city. This early intervention certainly save them from their suffering in their life.
• Child Health: Motivating parents for ensuring full immunization from govt. institution, preparation of low cost nutritious food, deworming at regular interval, make provision of vitamin supplements, periodical health check up with growth monitoring, early detection of disability etc.
• Adolescent Health: Facilitating supplementary iron pills from ICDS centre, encouraging in maintaining hygiene during menstrual cycle, understanding physical and psychological changes in teenage, develop protection skill from abuses including sexual abuse, effects of early marriage on health and unwanted pregnancy, imparting education on safe sex practices etc.
• Maternal Health: Awareness on contraceptive methods, right child bearing age, birth spacing, exclusive breast feeding, facilitating the availability and accessibility of contraceptive materials, ensuring institutional delivery including pre and post-natal care.
• Geriatric Care: Our organization is extending 24×7 health care services to the senior citizens who are not being able to reach health- care centres due to their age and lack of manpower. Each of the client in need of physical, psychological, social, legal care are getting services of specialized consultants including diagnostic support, physiotherapy, rehabilitation therapy and counselling. Clients are also getting services at their door-step even at the odd hours of the day!
• Substance Abuse: Awareness camps and campaigns are organized on the ill effects of substance, intervention strategy and rehabilitation.
• Therapy unit: Turnstone Global has established a unit for rehabilitation psychotherapy for behavior modification, psychological counselling for psychosocial disabilities for children and adults, vision therapy, physiotherapy etc.
• Internet de-addiction centre: As a pioneering initiative Turnstone Global has set up an Internet de-addiction Centre where clients having internet addiction receives counselling and therapies under the supervision of experienced clinical psychologist and occupational therapist.
• Pain Management Clinic: In this pain management clinic patients suffering from different kinds of pain get physiotherapy using modern equipments in a most scientific way.
• Stroke Management Clinic: In the stroke management clinic patients who are facing different forms of challenges in their daily functional life as an effect of stroke get complete rehabilitation therapy for leading life in a better way.
• Aids and Appliances: The organization at its outset striving to make the life of people having physical challenges more friendly by making provision of Smart canes, Plex Talk, Jaws software, android and apple phone accessibility, White Canes, hearing-aids etc.
• Blood Donation Camp: With the growing demand of blood transfusion for patients with blood related disease and also for advanced treatment in surgical cases Turnstone Global organize blood donation camps in different parts of the state. People are motivated to come forward and donate blood for saving lives of ailing people.
• Eye Care on Wheels for the slums to do eye screening camps in slums and rural areas.
• Mother & Child Care and Exchange Program with NOREC ( Norwegian Government)

Over the years, the Organization has moved from being a service delivery organization to one which successfully impacts policy and practice. Senior team members are a part of several policy making bodies in State of West Bengal.

Our organization believes that the empowerment of the persons and availability of opportunities for such empowerment is the best help that we can do.

We have received massive support from the well-wishers, volunteers as well as from the society itself. And with that support it is destined that we will become a significant name providing service to the people nationwide in the coming time.

From being a service delivery organization to one that impacts policy and practice, we have come a long way and hope to continue doing the work that has been bringing smile on the faces of the deprived and those around them. Good Governance, accountability towards donors, transparency in administration, constant liaison with Government Departments and our co-partners, motivated staffs, dedicated volunteers and above all proper handling of beneficiaries are the key factors to our success and growth.

Our Organization believes, the people whose lives are affected should decide how we operate. And that’s what makes us exclusive. We help people use their own power and potential to fight poverty, injustice and discrimination. That’s how real change take place – for individuals, families, communities and on the whole society. Turnstone Global known for best practices in a variety of

Fields e.g. Transparency, accountability, believes, values and compassion etc. is our strength which ensures proper utilization of every penny donated to us.