Child Protection India Project #26251

Improved Care and Protection of Girl Children

by Salaam Baalak Trust

Improved Care and Protection of Girl Children

Project Report | Jul 15, 2019
Updates from the Girls home

By Tanya Alag | Head Resource Mobilisation

Protecting the rights of girls living on the streets, Arushi Children’s Home for Girls (CHG) provides them a safe and enabling environment. Functioning in Gurugram, Haryana, the CHG caters to girls rescued from streets and difficult circumstances. Many of these girls come from broken and dysfunctional families, some of them are abandoned while some choose to run away from their oppressive homes. These girls are often in dire need of psychological and emotional support and an environment conducive to their all-round development. Recognising these needs, the team at Arushi provides a carefully planned set of services to the girls. These include shelter, health, education, skill development, and job placement and rehabilitation services.

Objectives
Realisation of street children’s rights to survival, health, education and development forms the foundation of Arushi’s functioning. Given this overarching goal, the key objectives of the CHG are as follows:
• To provide safe and secure space to girls rescued from streets and difficult circumstances
• To ensure their access to health, education and skill development facilities
• To empower and restore or rehabilitate girls back to their communities
Further, with the generous donor support girls in Arushi CHG have been able to access quality education and specialised skill development/vocational training services. The following sections present an update on overall performance of the CHG during the reporting period (July 2018-March 2019).

Progress Update
Education: The team at Arushi lays a lot of emphasis on education of girls. Keeping in mind the differential needs of girls, formal and non-formal education and open schooling opportunities are offered at the CHG. Additionally, the teachers at Arushi also conduct regular in-house classes to support the girls. In the reporting period, a total of 40 girls were studying in formal schools, while 29 were receiving non-formal education and 9 schools were enrolled in NIOS. The team stressed upon the need of securing good qualification for admission in quality higher education and vocational training institutes. It was heartening to see that girls in different age groups excelled in their studies with clear goals of higher education and skill development in their mind.

Health and Nutrition: Health and nutrition form a critical component of package of services provided at Arushi. The girls are provided three hot-cooked and balanced meals.Apart from this,special nutrition is provided to girls who are under or malnourished as prescribed by the doctor. The Medical Social Worker at the CHG also organises medical and health check-ups and provides first-aid services in case of emergency and facilitates hospitalisation of children when they are seriously ill. The children are also provided psychological support through individual and group counselling sessions organised by a trained counsellor. These sessions are instrumental in helping children get over their negative past and the trauma they experience on streets. Interaction with counsellor also helps children voice their issues, problems, concerns, dreams and aspirations. This helps the team forge stronger bonds of trust with children. During the reporting period, a total of 145 girls were provided first-aid and 28 girls were referred to hospital. All children at the CHG interacted with the counsellor through group and individual sessions.

Skill development and Vocational Training: The aim of skill development and vocational training activities is to not only enable children prepare for their future but also ensure their all-round development. To ensure this, children are linked to various skill and talent development courses such as dance, acting, music and puppetry. Subsequently, children who have passed Class 10 or have turned 16 are also prepared and guided by a career counsellor to pursue various vocational training courses such as beauty culture, hotel management, hospitality and travel and tourism.

Skill Development

Classical Dance
2
Guitar
1
Western Dance
2
Singing

: Vocational Training

Beauty Culture
3
Hotel Management
3
Stitching
4
Receptionist
1
Animal Care
1

Job Placement and Rehabilitation Reintegration of girls back into the communities as capable and self-reliant individuals is the key goal of job placement and rehabilitation services. The team at Arushi CHG helps girls in finding gainful employment as also enables them to start a life of their own. The preparation for the same begins as the girls near the age of 18 years. Sessions are organised with career counsellor wherein girls are motivated to lead a productive adult life. During these sessions, girls’ fears of living alone on their own are allayed and a sense of confidence is instilled among them. During the reporting period, sven girls secured jobs in beauty salons, cafeteria and hospitality industry. Key Achievements o Ten girls were rehabilitated during the period. o Majority of the girls got very good marks in their exams. o Seven girls were linked to different skill and development courses. o Five girls from the CHG participated in Inter-state Karate Championship. o Two differently abled girls were enrolled in a special school named Khushbu Welfare Society.

Challenges
Two key challenges faced by Arushi team include caring for the differently-abled children and mobilising funds for the CHG. The needs of differently-abled children are markedly different, they require specialised care and education. Linking them to special schools becomes challenging, as these schools charge high fees. Arushi team is trying to search for subsidised yet quality educational institutes for these children. Additionally, maintaining the quality of services at the CHG also entails continuous flow of funds. For this, the team has been trying to raise and mobilise funds. However, fund mobilisation remains challenging as staff members remain extremely caught up with their roles and responsibilities at the CHG.

Stories of Change
Ruby (name changed)
Ruby is a 16 year old charming and sensitive girl who came to Arushi at the age of 5. Her parents were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. She had a younger brother as well. Her family was unable to take care of her. In this situation, an organisation named Chelsea (working with people suffering from HIV/AIDS) sent the child to Arushi CHG for her further care and protection.
She was in need of parental care more than institutional care. So Arushi team took care of the child and gave her a lot of love and affection. Ruby was enrolled in non-formal education classes initially. She was also included in all other activities of the CHG. As she performed well in studies, she was enrolled to Anantam Public school. She completed her Class 5 from that school. Due to her good progress in academics. She was transferred to Rotary Public School. Over the years, she opened up to the staff and mingled with other children. She now has a positive outlook towards life, she is a talkative and chirpy girl and wants to enjoy her life to the fullest. She overcame the pain of separation of her family and changed herself during the years. She dreams of becoming an air hostess. Presently, she is studying in Class 10. She is well settled in the CHG and shares a good rapport with staff and children. She has been groomed as a very confident girl. Ruby is being motivated by the team to have sharper focus on her education. So that she can fulfil her dream of becoming an air hostess.
Siya
Siya came to the Arushi CHG at the age of 12. She was very stressed when she was sent to Arushi through Police on the orders of Child Welfare Committee. She had a traumatic past, her father died at a young age and the mother abandoned her. However, Siya missed her mother and felt very lonely. To help her get over her traumatic past she was constantly counselled by the psychologist. She was further involved in non-formal education classes and various other activities of the CHG. Soon, Siya started showing improvement in her behaviour and began interacting with the team and other children. Presently, she is well settled at the CHG. She has been enrolled in a formal school. She has shown interest in Dance. Resultantly, the team enrolled her in Classical Dance at Tansen Sangeet Mahavidyalya. The team is also counselling the child to focus on her studies and Mathematics in particular, as she finds the subject difficult. Siya also dreams of becoming an air hostess, the teachers at Arushi CHG therefore, encourage her to speak in English and read newspapers.

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Apr 19, 2019
SBT Medical Program

By Tanya Alag | Head - Resource Mobilization

Introduction

Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) has been striving to provide comprehensive care and protection services to street and working children. This package of services includes residential facilities, health and nutrition, education, vocational training and rehabilitation services. A critical component of this package is medical and health facilities. SBT strongly believes that health and nutrition lay a strong foundation of children’s holistic development. This becomes particularly significant in the case of children living on the streets who survive in deprived and hostile conditions. Evidence shows that children on streets live in insanitary conditions and are prone to various infections and diseases. Most of these children have low or no access to nutritious food. Many of them consume foods devoid of essential macro and micro nutrients and become susceptible to undernutrition or malnutrition.

Living on streets children face violence and abuse. Many of them are beaten by adults or elder children on streets. As a result they become vulnerable to physical injuries and road traffic incidents. Given these multiple reasons, providing children adequate medical facilities is often the first priority for SBT team. In an endeavour to ensure effective delivery of medical services, SBT has envisioned a multifaceted medical programme comprising medical check-ups, vaccination services, first-aid, hospital care and provision of medicines and other consumables

Goal and Objectives

The overarching goal of the medical programme is to improve health and nutritional status of children rescued from the streets. In tandem with this broad goal the programme endeavours to achieve following three pronged objectives:

To improve access of children living on streets to adequate and timely medical services through contact points
To improve access to adequate and timely medical services of children rescued and/or motivated to residential centres
To strengthen medical and health programme to ensure maximum quality health care

The details of the program are mentioned in the attached report.

Attachments:

SBTMedicalProgrammeNote07022019.docx (DOCX)

1 Attachment

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Jan 28, 2019
Updates from the girls shelter home

By Tanya Alag | Head - Resource Mobilization

Introduction

The continued support from our donors has enabled Salaam Baalak Trust to support girls rescued from streets and difficult circumstances and provide them a holistic package of care and protection services at the Arushi Residential Centre. Well equipped with all child care facilities, the Arushi Centre provides a child-friendly environment to children. At any given time, it successfully supports around 60 children. Living in the center, the children are able to access health, education, vocational training and job placement facilities. In the year 2018, the girls residing in Arushi have shown holistic improvement in all aspects of their lives. They have excelled in academics and extra-curricular activities during the year. They exude immense confidence and are driven to craft a bright future for themselves.

Progress Update

The followings section provides an overview of girls’ performance in various activities of the center.
Education
Linking children with educational services is one of the core foci of SBT. The girls at the Arushi residential center are being supported through a pliable education programme to cater to their individual needs. The different modes of education offered at the center include formal schooling, non-formal education and open schooling. Teachers with the support of the volunteers took regular classes for children during the year. The academic performance of each child at the center is mapped by the in-house teachers. Additionally, a monthly education report is being sent to the Executive Council to closely map the progress of children.
To improve children’s general knowledge quiz and debates were organized. Career counseling workshops were conducted to streamline children’s higher education choices and guide them on the possible avenues for vocational training. Conscious effort was made to link children to formal schools and help them keep abreast with their school curriculum.

Food and Nutrition
The girls were provided three hot cooked and nutritious meals at the center. Elder girls were involved in preparation of evening nutrition which includes buying groceries (under staff assistance) along with monitoring and distribution of utensils to create a sense of responsibility and discipline. Further, sessions were organized on the importance of choosing nutritious food for school tiffin. These sessions improved girls’ understanding of food, nutrition and balanced diet and resulted in visible changes in their dietary behavior.
The center staff made sure that children sit and eat together. Having meals together helped children bond well and learn the values of sharing food with each other. It has been endearing to see the elder girls taking care of the little ones and ensuring that they eat well.

Health
Sharp focus has been laid on ensuring health of girls in the center. To ensure holistic understanding of health and its components, awareness sessions on good hygiene and sanitation practices including tooth cleaning and hand wash techniques were held. Dental check-ups and tetanus vaccination camps were
organized at the center to cover all children. Children were also immunized against other preventable childhood diseases. In addition to this, special medical attention was given to children if they fall very sick.

Skill Development and Job Placement
The girls who are above 18 and/or have passed Class 10 opt for vocational training. This is a step towards preparing them for their adult lives. Presently the girls are pursuing beauty culture training, guitar classes, piano classes, classical singing and dancing, sketching classes, photoshop editing and English-speaking classes. It is heartening to see that the girls are taking these classes very seriously and working hard to learn as much as they can and complete their respective courses successfully.

Rehabilitation
In the last year eight girls have been rehabilitated. Of these, two girls are associated with Google and working in their cafeteria, four girls are working in different salons. One girl is working in Bajaj insurance company and another girl is working in google as a chef. The center team remains in constant touch with these girls through regular follow-ups. The follow up exercise has been instrumental in assuring girls that SBT team will be there for them in times of need.

Extra-Curricular Activities and Celebrations
The children engaged in following extracurricular activities in the last year.
• Monthly birthday celebration of the girls
• Movie outings
• Girls visited Vishwa Yuvak Kendra and attended seminars
• A quiz was organized at center
• Girl child day was celebrated
• 10 girls visited Aravalli Biodiversity Park
• One child won the best artist award in her school
• Girls went for different activities during the summer camp
• Girls celebrated all various festivals with lot of zeal and spirit
• Children were presented Christmas gifts by a corporate donor
• Girls went to Panchmarhi, Madhya Pradesh for a trip. During the trip they enjoyed natural trails and learnt about flora and Fauna
• Girls also went to an Old Age home and learnt about the needs of elderly

A snapshot of Quantitative Achievements of Arushi Residential Centre from January – December- 2018

Food and Nutrition
80
Education
80
Health Check ups
200 times
Vocational Training and Skill Development
10 girls
Job Placement
10 girls

Challenges
While working with the girls rescued from streets and managing the center, the team faces the following challenges.
• Detailed discussions on provisions of various juvenile legislations has been done with stakeholders.
• In the context of education, many girls find it difficult to cope with the curriculum of age appropriate classes. Towards this, the team is planning to provide bridge course and supportive classes.
• Many girls during the time of their rehabilitation feel very worried and tensed. It becomes daunting for the center team to calm and console them. However, with the help of career counsellor and psychologist, the center team resolves girls’ concerns and worries and prepares them for rehabilitation.

Future Plans
The center team has envisioned following plans to improve the functioning of the center.
• Providing quality education to all children
• Sending maximum number of children to formal schools
• Developing care plan for all children with focus on those above 15 years
• Developing ownership of the center among children through strengthening children’s committee
• Making adequate rehabilitation arrangement of girls who are above 18 years
• Ensuring follow ups of restored and rehabilitated girls
• Optimal networking with corporate and individual donors to enable cost cutting
• Putting in concerted efforts to sensitize CWC to needs of street children

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