milestones in our partnership

1990 – Medical students of the University of Basel want to get involved for medical care in India. Due to the different demands that come up during the realization of the idea, it becomes soon obvious that an interdisciplinary approach will be most promising. For this reason, students from different fields of study joined in order to put their ideas into action.
Spring 1991 – Creation of the Calcutta Project Basel Association. Besides the promotion of medical basic care in Kolkata, the objectives also stipulate enhancing the further education of students in Basel.
Autumn 1991 – Creation of the partner association S.B. Devi Charity Home (SBDCH) in Kolkata, India. The partner association is created according to Indian law - in astonishingly short time for Indian conditions. Immediately following the creation, an outpatient clinic is put into operation. Next to allopathy, homeopathy and ayurveda are also offered successfully.
July 1992 – The exchange program begins, and the first Indian doctor comes to Switzerland. Also, Swiss students travel to India to do internships.
Summer 1994 – A delegation of our partner association in India signs the cooperation agreement in Switzerland.
December 1994 – The first prevention programme is launched: the Mother and Child Health Care (MCH).
March 1995 – The Neue Zürcher Zeitung weekend edition dedicates five pages to the Calcutta Project, resulting in numerous donations.
1995 – External evaluation of the cooperation with SBDCH in order to assess the performance.
1996 – Year of crisis: Different notions on the cooperation with our partner organization result in restructurings in Switzerland and India.
1997 – The programme Public Health in a Prostitute Area (PHPA) is launched.Restructurings in India: Several members of the executive committee leave their positions and are being replaced by personalities outside the founding family, in order to ensure the association’s greater independence and higher professionalism.
October 24th, 1997 – Transformation of Calcutta Project Basel Association into Foundation Calcutta Project Basel to ensure solid cooperation.
1998 – The programme Health Checkup for Schoolchildren (HCPSC) is launched.
1999 – Purchase of a building (Health Centre) in order to expand the programme activities, with consequent renovation.
2000 – Within the framework of PHPA, the idea of a day nursery for the children of the sex workers arises. From this time on, we search for suitable space, which turns out to be very difficult.
2001 – The Health Centre starts its operation. In the new rooms, the visitors of the outpatient clinic find privacy and convenience. Consultations can be carried through more efficiently thanks to improved infrastructure. The Health Centre also offers space for administration and team meetings for the various prevention programmes.
2003 – The Foundation’s visual appearance is being brushed up – a new logo, a new slogan, a new fundraising concept.
2004 – We have found a suitable locality for the nursery. The wage structure of the Indian collaborators is adapted to market level. In Switzerland, all business is still conducted by volunteers.
2005 – Two-week intensive workshops with a delegation from India. Further steps to enhance professionalism.
January 2008 – A delegation of Executive Board and Foundation Board members travels to India for negotiations in order to ensure sustained cooperation.