Prabhat Alloi (Australia) – Meet the Team
Helen (Shivanii) Cameron
Shivanii was the founding director of Prabhat Alloi Inc (based in Australia), and still leads the organisation as its president. She has studied Community and International Development at Deakin University and has a background in sustainability through documentary productions, theatre and community work. Shivanii is a secondary teacher and a grandmother. She is looks forward to taking the next group of visitors to Dabar village and on tour of key places in West Bengal.
Rosemary Johnson
Rosemary, our secretary, lives in Melbourne with her cat & 2 dogs. She works as an Orthoptist (testing patients’ eyes). She is a long-time activist in the climate movement and a passionate refugee advocate. Shivanii’s inspiring story of Prabhat Alloi sparked a desire to be involved with this wonderful charity.
Keith Talbot
Keith, our treasurer, currently lives in Thornbury with his partner Helen. He has three independent children all living in Melbourne. He is retired having spent most of his working life as a high school teacher. For many years Keith was involved with a community skill-sharing and support group, based in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, as a committee member and treasurer. He now acts as treasurer for two very active community groups, Prabhat Alloi and Darebin Climate Action Now.
Robyn Ramsay
Robyn has been involved since the very early days as a fundraiser and event manager. She has visited the project area and works with the community in Australia and beyond to harness support for the villagers. Robyn provides pragmatic and wise insights and is a staunch member of the committee.
Jennifer Cameron
Jennifer is a long-standing committee member, providing wise insights and balanced viewpoints. As Shivanii’s sister, she has been involved since the beginning, including being part of the team supporting the participatory project management training in Dabar village in 2014.
Brian Germein
Brian has been a strong supporter of this work since the beginning, and contributes wisdom, balance and his keen sense of humour when things get hectic or challenging.
Zahid Chowdhury
Zahid (Rana) is an honorary Prabhat Alloi Inc committee member who has been our interpreter for crucial inter-team discussions. Rana played a key role in the participatory project management facilitation in Dabar village.
Prabhat Alloi Foundation (India) – Meet the Team
Sanjay (Tinku) Mahato
Sanjay was the project manager and director of Prabhat Alloi Foundation in India. Known to family and friends as Tinku, he lived in the village of Dabar in the district of Purulia, where our work is based. Tinku was the head man of his village and a community leader on a broader scale – you could say he was the ‘community glue’, supporting villagers throughout the region in many different ways. Tinku understood the importance of preserving the rich traditional culture of his area, known as Rahr, and worked with people of all backgrounds including the arts, managing international artists’ tours as a passionate advocate for traditional Rahri art of all kinds. Tragically, Tinku passed away on 26th May, 2021. We will be for ever thankful for his loving nature, his devoted service to his people, and the warmth of his smile. He left too soon.
Rekha Mahato
Rekha Mahato is the director of the hostel. From the beginning of this work, she managed the welfare of all the children in the hostel, with the assistance of two house mothers. Rekha is Sanjay’s wife; the whole family embraced the children as part of their extended family. Rekha has welcomed many international volunteers into her home and has provided for them with unfailing generosity and care. Always humble in her manner, she is the rock of the organisation.
Santa Mahato
Santa is a teacher in the school tuition centre and runs the sewing class. She works with women’s groups in learning business skills and extending their craft skills and, with the background as a registered nurse, has assisted our homeopathic doctor at the free community clinics. Santa oversees the health care of the residents of Nabakuthashram, a nearby village of elderly residents who suffer from leprosy. She manages the accounts of Prabhat Alloi Foundation based in Dabar village, Purulia.
Chaina Mahato
Chaina Mahato is the principal of the Prabhat Alloi tuition centre in Dabar Village. She supports the development of women’s groups to establish small businesses and foster craft skills, and provides support for the women the leprosy village as an adopted grand-daughter, assisting in weekly provision of medical care.
Kiriti Mahato
Kiriti is part of the PAF team, playing a huge role in cultural preservation. A published author and musicia, he is actively involved in liasing with cultural performers, artists, authors and scholars in the local region and in working towards formal recognition of local language and customs.
Dr Soma Dutta
Dr Soma Dutta is a qualified homeopath and surgeon. She worked as the doctor at the medical clinic in the school centre over many years, and remains involved with Prabhat Alloi.
Dipak Mahato
Dipak Mahato is a qualified teacher who works as a senior teacher in our school tuition centre. More recently, he has been running literacy classes for women in the village.
Krishna Mahato
Krishna Mahato is a teacher in the school tuition centre. He is also a great supporter for the people of the leprosy village, having been one of their key ‘minders’ for many years.
Madhub Mahato
Madhub is a teacher at the school tuition centre. He has fulfilled a range of responsibilities since the beginning of Prabhat Alloi Foundation.
Samit Gorain
Samit is a security guard at the tuition center, and one of the rickshaw drivers delivering the children from the snake village to and from school.
Koku Karmakar
Koku is a security guard at the tuition centre, and is a wonderful all-round helper. He has played a significant role in supporting the women in transporting their handicrafts to markets for sale, and is always a willing contributor to any projects.