Help prevent sexual abuse of children in India

HONOURED BY AN AWARD

Arpan was awarded "The Most Committed NGO" in Early Childhood Care and Education, 2017 by The Early Childhood Association, India. It is an association that empowers parents, teachers and others to explore and develop holistic programs for children that will look after their well-being, relationships, family and community. Sharalene Moonjely, Arpan's Public Engagement Director received the award on behalf of Arpan.

Our achievement is both an outcome of our commitment as well as the unflinching support of our partners, donors and beneficiaries. We thank you for being our co-traveler.

CHILDREN ARE ARPAN’S BEST ADVOCATES

Once we complete our Personal Safety lesson plans and counselling with children, we organise a post session with the parents and teachers. The purpose of this session is to create a platform for mutual sharing where parents and teachers can share their experiences, feedback and concerns.

 At the end of one such post session with parents, a parent wanted to know more about signs and symptoms of CSA as she felt children might not be comfortable to share such experiences. Her child was standing nearby and overheard this conversation and responded "I know what is safe and unsafe. If something unsafe happens to me I know how to respond and after that, I will come and tell you."

It gives us immense pleasure to know that children are being able to participate in their safety, initiate communication with their parents and parents are proactive in being more alert and vigilant. We hope that we can enable more parents to create safe environments for their children and children are more empowered and have better help-seeking behaviour.

ENGAGING WITH VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS

This month we have opened our doors to volunteers and interns. It has been an amazing experience! We had two volunteers from the UK and two interns from a top business school, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). Their vibrant energy was quite refreshing, especially their novel outlook towards work, society and life.  

"Interning with Arpan has been a very rewarding experience for me. It has exposed me to an important side of the society that I may not have otherwise fully understood. It was a fruitful association and I hope to contribute my time to NGOs such as Arpan in the future." Said one of the interns.

STRENGTHENING SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Arpan initiated the year-long Training with Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) with the objective to work at a systemic level to mainstream child protection. The training was inaugurated by Mr Rahul More, Deputy Commissioner, DWCD, Konkan Zone, Mr Walvi, DWCD Officer, Konkan Zone, Mr Nitin Maske, DWCD Officer, Mumbai City, Mr Patankar DWCD Officer, Mumbai-Suburb and Mr Bhavane, Chief Officer, Children's Aid Society.

The ongoing training is aimed at capacity building of caretakers, counsellors, probation officers and superintendents of 24 institutions in Konkan Zone so that they become effective support personnel and active agents in creating safe spaces for children. The first phase of the training focused on understanding child development. Before talking about child protection, it is pivotal to understand the emotional, social and physical development of children. A solid understanding of milestones and developmental pathways across each domain of children's development can prod child care providers to become more active participants in children's safety.

 "The topic is very theoretical and so heavy to grasp. But because of the power point presentation, notes being in Marathi and the examples used and activities done we were able to connect very fast."Shared one of the participants of the Training with Department of Women and Child Development.

Links:

• Arpan's Website
• Arpan's Facebook Page