Trip for a trip travel journals - Tiljala SHED
Every time a customer books one of our vacations and opts in to our Trip for a Trip scheme, we organise a day trip for a child from a disadvantaged background somewhere around the world to see their local tourist sites, often for the first time.
Our latest trip:
Bakkhali Sea Beach
21st August 2026
August 2026 saw 180 children aged 10-16 enjoy a day at the beach at Bakkhali. These children come from economically disadvantaged communities in Kolkata, where their families depend on low-paid, irregular work. Living in small, crowded homes, they have little opportunity for recreation, so this day trip was a chance to have fun and just enjoy being children. Many had never seen the sea before. They spent the day playing in the water, running along the shoreline and building sandcastles, and above all making some happy memories.
A sample travel journal from a previous trip with our partner Tiljala SHED:
Morning: At 8.30am everyone met at the Beauty Training & Empowerment Centre of Tiljala SHED and walked to the street where the air-conditioned charter bus picked them up. The children were pleased with this luxurious experience. Their first stop was the Botanical Garden and the children were very excited to see all of the trees and different types of plants. The weather was nice and pleasant, though little bits of rain continued for some time during the day.Lunchtime: After the Botanical Garden, the group went to a prominent Kolkata restaurant, called Amimia, where the children were excited to eat Biryani with chicken and a few of them were asking for the chicken leg or the thigh with excitement in their voice. Everyone ate all of the food with salads and they also had rice pudding for dessert, which the children were also very excited about.
End of the day: They ended the long day with ice cream from a small ice cream cart which the kids absolutely loved!
Impact: The children enjoyed the trip very much and it was a great way for them to learn different things about the world and their city. All in all, it was a very special day for the children. As the trip was arranged in a very organised way, the children felt very special and they expressed their desire to do similar trips in the future.
The children also really enjoyed the support of Aftabuddin Ahmad who had volunteered to be the official guide. He is a traveler and a nature lover and told the children all about the different types of trees, plants and their species. Aftab also gave the history behind all of the significant parts of the Botanic Garden and the children seemed to engage more and were interested to learn. It was a great experience for everyone to be around each other away from their homes so that they could learn and enjoy themselves.
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– Shabana
“Very much enjoyed it! My favorite part was looking at the mummies! Next time, I would love to go to Nicco Park!”
– Shabnam
“Very enjoyable day! My favorite part was going to different places with new and old friends and eating the delicious food!”
– Riya
“Loved it, very fun!”
- Hafizul
“I enjoyed the trip very much! Very fun! I liked the mummies at the Indian Museum and the different types of trees at the Botanical Garden.”
– Zearul
”
Other trips that we have run with our partner Tiljala SHED:
Over two days in December 2025 we took 282 children on a trip to their local museums. The Indian museum houses dinosaur fossils, a mummy and Mughal-era paintings; Victoria Memorial gives students a deeper understanding of India's history and fight for independence; and the Science City Amusement Park has a time travel show and hands-on experiments to conduct. The children typically live in Kolkata's shanty towns so a day out is a real treat.
We took 108 children from Kolkata's shanty towns, accompanied by 12 staff, on a trip to some of the city's museums. The Indian museum houses dinosaur fossils, a mummy and Mughal-era paintings; Victoria Memorial gave the students a deeper understanding of the colonial influence on India and fight for independence; and in Science City they enjoyed a time travel show and hands-on experiments. "The excursion was a perfect balance of learning and fun... By the end of the visit, the students were inspired and energized."
108 children from different shanties of Kolkata, accompanied by 12 members of staff, were taken on an excursion to the Indian Museum (the oldest museum in India) and Science City amusement park.
On Thursday, 19th October 2023, 105 excited Children and 15 staff from the slums and shanties of Kolkata visited the magical world of Wet-o-Wild (Nicco Park) which is located in the Bidhannagar Area close to Salt Lake and is one of the most popular amusement parks in Kolkata.
109 children from the shanties of Kolkata visited the beach and waters of the Bay of Bengal where the children enjoyed the beach, took a dip in the sea and followed a nearby mangrove forest trail. One of the children said: "First time in my life at seas is an amazing experience".
108 children and 12 staff members visited Nicco Amusement Water Park, India and had a wonderful day enjoying the rides and the water park.
107 children accompanied by 13 escorts from the cities most deprived areas and living a life of daily hardships were picked up by two private buses to take them for a day trip to Eco Park located near New Town, Action Area II, Kolkata, India. This park is one of the largest open spaces in the city, spread across 480 acres.
111 children and 14 staff members visited Nicco Amusement Water Park, India and had a memorable experience on the rides and the water park.
110 children and 10 staff members visited Nicco Amusement Water Park, India and had a fabulous time enjoying the rides and the water park.
Fifty-six children between the age of 7 and 17 years who are associated with the Indian charity Tiljala SHED went on a visit to Henry Island located in the Sundarbans Forest (beautiful jungle) to spend the day and enjoy the sights and sounds of the jungle and the nearby sea. Children who have rarely ventured outside their local area were thrilled to go on the trip.
30 children between the ages of 7 and 17 years old went to see some of the tourist sights of their own city, Kolkata, including the Botanic Gardens and the Indian Museum as well as enjoying a meal at a popular restaurant.
More about our partner organisation:
Tiljala Shed was started by a group of youths from Tiljala who wanted to make a real change in the area and transform lives, especially those within the rag picking community. In Kolkata society these children and their families are considered ‘the last tier’ and are, according to the charity “treated as dirt and garbage by society. Even people living in the legal slums despise them.” The families live along the railway tracks settlements and also along the dirty canal side settlements where violence and abuse is rampant. They were keen to offer the children this trip as a way to help them feel part of society again, as well as contributing to their education. Tiljala Shed operates two shelters in Kolkata, one specifically for children and many of the children on this trip are from these shelters.More about Trip for a Trip
With our Trip for a Trip scheme every customer who books with us can give an inspiring day trip to a child from a disadvantaged background. Since we started we’ve made a positive difference to over 8,000 children’s lives.- Read more about Trip for a Trip and other trips we've run.
- If you've booked a vacation via Responsible Travel, claim your booking gift to join our Trip for a Trip scheme.
- You can also make a donation to give more children a day out - just get in touch.
