We got published in The Coast Star on July 19, 2012 for our upcoming trip.  Read about it here:

DONATE NOW!

SPRING LAKE HEIGHTS — For many, the desire to serve others stretches beyond the borders of one’s hometown. One such local family took that desire to a new level and will be taking their charitable spirit halfway around the globe.
Resident John Gontkof, along with his wife, Crystal, and stepdaughter, Kendra, 16, of Spring Lake Heights, will depart for Calcutta, India in August, where they will work for one month with two non-profit organizations in the hopes of improving the lives of men, women and children in underdeveloped areas.
This will be Mr. Gontkof’s second journey to India, though his first with his family. He previously traveled to the country in September 2010 through his company, IBM’s, Corporate Service Corps.
The Corporate Service Corps [CSC] is a highly competitive leadership program which sends IBM employees to locations throughout the globe in order to participate in various philanthropic ventures, Mr. Gontkof said. Mr. Gontkof was one of 5,000 applicants selected worldwide and said it was an experience he would never forget. “It was a very moving experience and I never thought I would do that sort of thing,” he said.
While serving with the CSC, Mr. Gontkof was assigned to a non-profit called Iswar Sankalpa. The mission of Iswar Sankalpa is to aid the mentally-ill homeless who occupy the streets of Calcutta. The organization offers women a place to spend the night, while volunteers attempt to locate their family members.
Mr. Gontkof said that he was visiting and treating homeless people diagnosed as schizophrenic as early as his second day on the job.
“The goal is to get the community involved to care for people, and to watch out for them while they get better,” Mr. Gontkof said.
He added that he and his partner were asked to use their skills honed with IBM to accomplish two additional tasks: to create an online database system to assist social workers in tracking patients’ progress, as well as shape a five-year strategic plan for the organization.
Upon his return to Calcutta next month, Mr. Gontkof and his family will work again with Iswar Sankalpa, as well as the Calcutta Social Project. The organization, which focuses on providing schools for Calcutta children in underdeveloped areas, was selected by Mr. Gontkof in order to give his stepdaughter a “world view” before she graduates from Manasquan High School.
“I want to impart some of my travels on her and open her eyes,” he said. “The summer is the best time to go, and I hope it will open her eyes.”
The family is currently accepting donations, which Mr. Gontkof hopes to hand-deliver to both organizations. Thus far, they have raised $680 toward their $1,500 goal.
Donations may be made through their trip website, www.razoo.com/story/Personally-Making-A-Difference-To-Homeless-Mentally-Ill-And-Children-In-Kolkata-Calcutta-India.
For more information about Iswar Sankalpa, visit their website at www.isankalpa.org. To learn more about the Calcutta Social Project, visit web.calcuttasocialproject.net.

Our trip is quickly approaching!

Donate Now! - We are very close to meeting our goal!

In just a few short weeks, my wife, stepdaughter and I will be heading overseas for an amazing trip to Calcutta.  We will be working with two very dedicated organizations - Iswar Sankalpa which provides help to the homeless mentally ill and Calcutta Social Project which provides schools in slum areas for children.  We have started a small fundraising project to be able to hand deliver some financial relief to both organizations which operate on shoestring budgets.  Please click on the following link to learn more and help if you are able.  Even if you cannot, please click the 'Share'  button on the right side of the fundraising page to help spread the word to others.


http://www.razoo.com/story/Personally-Making-A-Difference-To-Homeless-Mentally-Ill-And-Children-In-Kolkata-Calcutta-India

Thanks for your support!!

John G., Crystal & Kendra

Returning to Kolkata!

This August, 2012, my family and I are heading back to Kolkata to visit those I worked with as part of the IBM Corporate Service Corps almost 2 years before.  I am very excited to reconnect with friends and see the progress of our work in addition to participating in some of the activities at the Women's night shelter as well as visiting the children of Calcutta Social Project.
An article was recently published in my university alumni magazine - Florida Tech Today Article on page 24.  Be sure to check it out!

If you would like to make a donation that I can bring to Kolkata for the groups I am visiting, please contact me, as their needs are great and a small amount would go a long way and be most appreciated.

Cheers!
John G.

1 Week to Departure and Counting...

(Posted on September 2, 2010)

In exactly one week from today, the next phase of our Team India 8 experience will begin with flights to Kolkata, India.  Over the past two and a half months, our team of 10 IBMers has been focused on preparation, team building, and getting ready for our in country assignments.  There is a lot of work yet to do before September 9th, and I know it will be here very quickly.  Fortunately, all of the logistical tasks have been completed and it is time to figure out how and what to pack for a climate and country I have not experienced.  I have no idea what to expect!

12 hour countdown until 40 hours of travel to Kolkata

(Posted on September 8, 2010)

In less than 12 hours I will be departing for 40 hours of travel to Kolkata, India.  Some of the other members of our India 8 team have already left.  When I step on the Emirates flight from Los Angeles Thursday afternoon, I won't be getting off the plane until landing in Dubai on Friday night.  After that 16 hour flight, the journey is still not complete.  Fortunately, three other team members will also be connecting in Dubai from Argentina, France, and Germany.  It will be nice to meet up with them after almost three months of conference calls and preparaton.  We will meet the other 6 members of our team in Kolkata on Saturday morning.  I am still wondering if I will be awake and alert, or half asleep after I get there.  My Emirates flight will have close to 1200 in-seat channels of video....it may take 16 hours just to decide what to watch!

Feeling like I am part of the "Amazing Race"

(Posted on September 9, 2010)

I started my journey today to Los Angeles to connect with my flight to Dubai.  I landed at LAX at 10am, yet my connection on Emirates was not until 4:45pm.  I collected my checked bag and made my way from United terminal 7 to the international terminal. When I got there I found out that the Emirates ticket counter doesn't open until 1pm.  I felt like I was in the amazing race - camped out in front of the empty ticket counter first in line.  Around noon, they started setting up the retractable lanes and the economy line quickly formed behind me.  The people behind me were from Santa Barbara, CA on their way to Ethiopia to adopt a 5 month baby boy.

When I stepped up to the ticket counter to check in, I was told that my normal carry on rollerbag was double the allowed weight and too large for their sizing unit.  This is the same carry on I take back and forth across the US every week.  I asked about upgrading to business class, but the charge was $2,000-$3,000 for the flight.  Ugh.  I quickly grabbed a change of clothes, toothbrush and razor and checked my trusty carry-on.  At least now I am traveling very light.  Hopefully both bags will be waiting for me at baggage claim in Kolkata Saturday morning!

After check in I made my way to the Delta terminal so I could use the Skyclub lounge, as this will be the last bit of solace before I get to the hotel in India.

This is definitely not the Hilton....

(Posted on September 11, 2010)

Saturday morning after arriving at the Kolkata airport, we were met by a driver to take us to the hotel in the Ballygunge area.  The drive took approximately an hour and it was quite an experience.  There is no sense of driving laws on these roads, other than to make a best effort to stay on the correct side of the road, which would be the left.  The dotted lines for the lanes could be interpreted as lane dividers in most other places, but here it is ok to drive down the middle of the dotted lines while swerving around other cars, auto rickshaws, and the occasional cow or two.  When someone blows their horn, you don't take it personally, you just blow your horn just as unneccisarily. This occurs all day and night.  As one of my guide books stated, the people here blow their horns just to let you know they are there.  For all the horn blowing, no one seems to be getting upset or angry about it, as they would be elsewhere.

After driving from the airport through different parts of the city, we got an interesting look at buildings in various stages of construction with scaffolding that appears to be put together with bamboo and twine.  The slums on the sides of the road were devastating, yet the people that were just hanging out on the sides of the street didn't have any kind of urgency or place to be.  They were merely talking amongst them selves, giving hugs and enjoying each other's company.

When we arrived at the hotel, we waited in the car until the driver verified we were at the right place and the security guards inside the fence opened the gate.  The rooms are very basic, yet comparing the building to those around us, it is much newer.  I found out at a party they had for us Saturday night, that the building was turned into a hotel with 20 rooms about 1.5 years ago.

My room is on the first floor (second actually) in the corner of the hotel.  With windows on two sides, I get to see and hear the people and traffic (along with the car and bicycle horns) converging from two directions.  There is a jewelry shop or kiosk directly below my window on the ground level which is a hub for some of the locals hanging out on the sidewalk with nonstop chatter, yells, and whatever.  I don't think I will need my alarm clock as the constant flow of activity outside my windows will take care of that.

The team of 10 of us took a walk around the area last night and found the streets to be filled with people, many celebrating the end of Ramadan.  While we clearly garnered stares from the locals, no one approached us.

Here are a couple pictures I just took outside my bedroom window.  People washing their dishes in the curb.  After seeing another woman squat down next to the sidewalk, I wondered why she didn't have any dishes to wash.  After she got up a minute later and walked away, I realized she wasn't there to wash dishes.  Yet this was only a few feet from the other woman....