After visiting the devastated settlement in Narkeldanga, Fr. Mathew George and his DBDS team witnessed the despair firsthand. “The project was not just about building structures; it was about rebuilding a community’s soul,” Fr. George said, recalling his earlier work in the city’s slums. Following consultations with residents, local leaders, and police, construction began on permanent houses.

On August 31, just over six months after the fire, 34 newly built homes were blessed and handed over in a modest ceremony. For the families, the moment marked the end of months of displacement.

A mother, standing at the doorway of her brick-walled home, expressed her relief: “We were living under plastic sheets for months, and it was getting harder every day. This is not just a house; it’s our dignity back. We can now give our children a safe place to sleep and a real future.”

The project is part of DBDS’s broader commitment to slum communities. To date, the organization has built 564 low-cost houses along Kolkata’s canals, supporting hundreds of marginalized families. In addition to the new homes, essential household items — from cooking pots to tin storage boxes — were distributed to replace those that the fire had destroyed.

“The fire took everything from us,” said a young beneficiary. “But when Salesians promised to help, they kept their word. These walls are more than shelter — they are proof that we matter.”