The Bishop of Derby has launched an appeal to provide housing and basic education for girls living in one of the worlds biggest and poorest slums in India where desperate poverty and homelessness severely damage their life chances.

The Diocese of Derby has a long mutual association with the Church of North India, built up in part through links with schools over many decades. This year, St Elizabeths Hostel in Kolkata, India, is the focus of Bishop Libbys Harvest Appeal.

Drawn from some of the poorest slums in the city, the hostel is a refuge for up to 86 girls at any one time. Sometimes homeless and always underprivileged, the girls are provided with accommodation, food, clothing and other basic necessities as well as an education up to Higher Secondary level.

As a result of the pandemic, financial support has either been cut or is at severe risk in what are sometimes considered as low priority areas such as girls education - Bishop Libby is determined that the long-term development of girls at St Elizabeths should continue.

Education helps the girls overcome social and financial challenges and to access jobs and income to enable them to live independently and sustain themselves. Without the support of St Elizabeths, most of the girls would receive no education at all, making it likely they would remain in poverty like many thousands of other girls and vulnerable to exploitation, often by the sex trade.

The appeal aims to raise thousands of pounds and is being launched in parishes and schools throughout the Diocese and will run from September to the end of December this year.