KOLKATA: A British corporate trainer, who was brought up in the slums of Kolkata two decades ago, has now decided to return to her roots from her London home with a mission to transform the lives of other destitute.
Born to British parents who stayed back in India after 1947, Jillian Haslam was raised in abject poverty in a slum at Kidderpore from where she rose to become a successful banking professional.
Haslam later migrated to London as a motivational speaker and corporate trainer.
"Now I really want to give it back to my city Kolkata. I shifted away, but my heart and soul lie right here and so I will introduce some of the best practises followed in the UK in the rehabilitation of destitute, prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families," Haslam told PTI.
During a visit to the city, Haslam, the daughter of a British army officer, relived old memories and met friendly neighbourers in the slum who had helped her family in times of distress.
Under the banner of her charitable organisation Remedia Trust Foundation she has created five teams of volunteers from different fields who will work on the mission to transform lives of the underprivileged.
She has bought land near Kolkata to set up a training centre and promises to return back to the city in November.
"I am building my teams here which will operate from here and I will keep visiting Kolkata very regularly now," said the 43-year-old whose Indian accent hasn't gone away since she left the city as a teenager in the nineties.