viii) Salaam Baalak Trust, New Delhi

children will move out to alternative accommodations of their choice, after they completes these courses. Some girls are studying through Open University who are supported with course fees in their places of stay, whereas other expenses they are managing with part time jobs.

Challenges faced by the organization

The first and foremost challenge with the organization is to convince the government for more after care homes for 18+ YAs, despite so many of them get transited from CCIs across the country requiring living supports and independence supports. Huge administrative cost is another challenge in CCIs in few states For example, due to the pressure from the department on all CCIs across the country to put cameras, storage of camera recording back-ups for 36 months, the CCIs need to spend a lot of money raised for children to cover such administrative costs. It’s not easy to convince the donors to get digital infrastructure because all are interested to put their money on child-care only.

It is obvious that after 18 years YAs would look for some independence and there would be chances of misusing independence and falling into trouble. The team in Udayan opined that lot of mental stress faced by the care staff to manage YAs in after care facilities. Challenges are to manage with indiscipline among YAs in after care transition homes, wastage of food as everyone having their own choices, tendency to move out without informing, staying out until late night, to mention a few. Hence, as part of mental health training, Udayan care staff go through the sessions about levels of mentoring, particularly to handle YAs reaching mature age group. Mentors need to understand different methods of tackling behavioural issues of this age group as the methods used in home level for smaller age group is completely different and the way smaller children are tackled cannot be applied to 18+ age group children.

The organization, alike many other CCIs faces financial constraints with some YAs preferring for expensive

36 https://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/our-mission-statement.php courses for which arranging fund get very difficult even though mentors identify that those set of children have capabilities of excelling in those expensive courses.

Salaam Balak Trust (SBT) provides a sensitive and caring environment for street and working children, and those in difficult circumstances. It seeks to provide a platform for children to realize their full potential, their right to a safe and secure space, education, and health and nutrition.36 In 1988, it was estimated that 10 percent of the 50 crore children were from street and an award winning film by Mira Niar ‘Salaam Bombay’, revealed the dark underbelly of Mumbai’s streets, raising question that if out of these children, 5 percent also becomes terrorist, what will happen to the country. Recognizing so much of things missing from the lives of these children - food, security, health, education and love, Salaam Balaak Trust got registered in 1988 with 25 street children only.

Today, the organization has 3 ChildLine (one railway and two district sub centre), 10 day-care centres (contact points for newly rescued children through

1,08,014 total beneficiaries since inception 29,323 children provided shelter. Almost 22,220 YAs after 21 years restored to families in last 5 years against 45000 children enrolled. 4,272 children placed to vocational training till

March 2019. 1,349 YAs into full time job placement since 10 years. 13,169 children are into formal schooling

Data source: https://www.salaambaalaktrust.com

railway child line) and 7 children homes (3 open shelter with 35-40 children for short stay and 4 homes for long term stay of street children- 2 for boys and 2 for girls).

Compliant with guidelines of Integrated Child Protection Scheme and Juvenile Justice Act 2015, the organization provide safe child friendly shelter in children homes and open shelters for children rescued from street situations and any other distress situations. The key services in the 10 Contact Points include reaching out to children in difficult circumstance, tracking and counselling missing children to return to the families, providing open schooling/formal education and basic necessities like nutrition, clothing etc. Childline - Salaam Baalak Trust synchronises its work with District Labour Department, Indian Railways, Child Welfare Committee, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Police, local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on children’s issues, and other programs of the organization. Girl’s homes count 90 children each whereas Boys homes count 150 children each.

City walk program is an innovative English guided tour by Salaam Balaak Trust for corporates and foreign volunteers and donors, guided by young boys and girls (16+ children) of the organization where the children share their own stories while taking the volunteers and donor on city tour around Delhi. The program started by SBT to enhance children’s communication skills, confidence, and knowledge. The program aims to show glimpse of the street life, the hardships, and the struggle that children on the street go through. The children also share how they overcome those challenges and succeeded in life.

Volunteer involvement: Volunteers come from 60 countries and based on their interests; they take different programs with home children.

Mental Health program of Salaam Balaak Trust is headed by a Psychologist and 8-10 counsellors that helps to build rapport with children and address emotional and psychological difficulties faced by the children in the organization’s care. In cases of serious issues such as the effects of trauma or depression, specialised therapies are employed to help children deal with these problems. Some of the therapies used by the MHP include cognitive behaviour therapy, artbased therapy, play therapy and group therapy. The counsellors play varied roles - a close confidante with whom the children share their most intimate thoughts, a sounding board with which the children can release all their frustration and anger, a friend with whom they share their jokes, stories, joys and dreams.

Performing arts and Annual Theatre: Through the experience of performing arts, SBT has successfully instilled the sense of self-confidence and dignity, which is otherwise a miss in the lives of these children. Believing in the latent talent of every child, performing arts are used as the springboard to enable the journey of reflection, expression, and empowerment. Children are involved into role play and performance in theatre with series of rehearsals and preparation.

Community reach: As part of community outreach program, the organization is providing mass benefits to the communities to support them with adhaar card, school admission, Anganwadi admission, accessing scholarship etc.

Mobile School program by Salaam Balaak Trust in collaboration with Children Hope is another community outreach program that covers children in the urban slum through the activities including nonformal education, creative arts, counselling on health, hygiene, social skills, and child rights. At the end of each session, supplementary nutrition is provided, and a first aid service is made available.

Restoration is another important focused initiative by the organization. As soon as a child’s family is traced, adequate steps are taken in close coordination with CWC to send the child back to the family. Over the years, the centre staff members have restored children to far-flung areas of the country and even outside the country, specifically in cases where guardians cannot come to take the child back. To keep the strings connected centre staff follows up with the family to check if the child was doing fine and had adjusted well.

P Transition preparedness and independence support Many times, children develop unrealistic expectations from themselves which may not correspond to the skill sets they possess. To address this aspect, as soon as a child turns 16, staff members strike up a conversation with the child around his/her career, regular meetings with the career counsellors are organised and a rehabilitation plan is drawn to prepare the child to step out of protective auspices of residential centres. The implementation of a rehabilitation plan includes interaction with the child steered by the career counsellor and the centre coordinator on monthly basis.

The focal points of these interactions are strengthening child’s resolve towards the career path that he/she has chosen and whether the rehabilitation steps are panning out as per the plan or not. Preparation of a child for rehabilitation may be fraught with challenges as children are sceptical and scared about leading an independent life outside the centre; they may also become angry and hostile or may distance themselves from the staff members. These negative emotions of young boys and girls at the threshold of maturity are understandable and staff members help them overcome these emotions by recurrent talks and assuring that the SBT team would be a ‘call away’.

Role model interaction is a unique aspect of SBT’s rehabilitation programme. Role models are young adults rehabilitated by SBT, who have established themselves as successful professionals. They visit various residential centres periodically to interact with the children who are soon to be rehabilitated and share their stories of ‘doing well’ in the outside world. These interactions serve as a platform to quench children’s curiosity who have scores of questions about starting a life of their own in the outside world. The most outstanding feature of these interactions is that they leave children with a feeling that ‘If they (role models) can do it, I also I!’, inspiring them to work hard and make a mark of their own.

Children above 16 years of age or those who clear their 10th board exam qualify for vocational training. Choice of a vocational training course for a child is made keeping in mind the child’s interest and realistic assessment of his/her abilities by the career counsellor and staff members. A careful attempt is made to match the child’s skill and ability with the training course he/she opts for. The SBT team makes concerted efforts to enrol children in quality training courses in reputed institutes. The popular choices of courses have been Master Desk Top Publishing, web and graphic designing, multi-media animation, film editing, C++ software, caregiving, house-keeping, puppetry, karate, theatre and photography. Some of the institutes which provided training were ITI Pusa Road, NIIT, MAAC, Arena Multi-media, Crown Plaza, Taj Mahal Hotel, Vivek Sahni’s Design House, The Ishara Puppet Theatre Trust, YMCA, Triveni Kala Sangam & Ramakrishna Institute of Computers.

P Living arrangements on attaining maturity Around 70 percent children get ready for jobs from homes as well as from communities who are supported, till they get a job with starting income of Rs.8000Rs10000 per month. Every year 300 YAs are given vocational trainings post which 150 are guaranteed to get jobs with starting salaries of Rs.10000 per month. Academically sound children are into various advanced courses and get absorbed in the jobs like fashion designing, digital media and design, management etc. But children with lesser education get jobs in computer related works, care giving in SBT or other NGOs. YAs more than 18 years come through 10 contact points of the organization who are also given supports like trainings, rehabilitations, and job placements.

Children on attaining maturity are not allowed to stay in children homes but Salaam Baalak Trust do not have after care facilities that required extra interventions and staff strength. These children are not sent to Govt after Care homes but to the independent rented accommodation, mess, hostel, with families, supported with the organization’s own funds for at least 6-8 months for professional trainings of the YAs capabilities and choices. Salaam Baalak also support YAs with Rs.5000 per YA apart from their professional/vocational course fees, after they move to their independent living set ups. After YAs get

the jobs, the financial support for another 6 months reduced to Rs.3000 per YA per month.

P Post care supports to YAs in different living spaces Salaam Baalak Trust supports children who want to study further by incurring 50 per cent of the course expense apart from facilitating the admission process. Similarly, children who look at an upgrade of their vocational skills through advance courses, SBT encourages them by contributing up to 75 percent of the course fee. In cases of medical or other emergencies when the rehabilitated youth need assistance, SBT provides them immediate succour till five years after their rehabilitation.

Even after a child is rehabilitated, the SBT team maintains contact with the child to ensure that he/she finds stability and enjoyment in their work. The team also keeps in touch with employers for a minimum of six months to ensure that rehabilitated children have adjusted to the new work environment. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, if a rehabilitated child quits his/her job, the team begins a process of placing such children in new agencies. The process of replacement of a child is carried out again in cases where a child expresses dissatisfaction with the second set-up as well. Thus, rigorous efforts are put in to make a rehabilitated child self-reliant.

Children are introduced to a new life with a message that the SBT team would be there with them in their time of need. It is because of this reason that many children after passing out of SBT keep coming back to meet the staff members and trustees of the organisation, thus forming a lifelong relationship of love and care. Coordinator and career counsellors interact with the YAs into jobs and living in independent accommodations. The staff have continuous follow up in the YAs’ different living spaces about how they are adjusting in the new set up and what are their requirements. Coordinators are in regular contact over phone or through visits to their places to assess how are they managing alone and understand their requirements. Counselling is done for YAs if they are unable to live harmoniously among themselves. Career counselors counsels the children about what types of jobs they can get based on their capabilities as well as resolves the problems or challenges they face in workplaces.

SBT alumni who are well settled in their lives are in contact with SBT. Some of the alumni are so well settled in their chosen professions as photographers, engineering job etc. that they provide financial support to SBT.

Challenges faced by the organization

Children have much more expectation than their capabilities. Career counsellors need to provide proper judgement on what and how much a child can do based on his/her capability. And challenge is to make the child understand his/her skillset and capability.

Placing YAs into other living spaces on attaining maturity is another challenge faced by the staff at Salaam Baalak Trust. These YAs sometime get angry and hostile and distance themselves from the staff members. The staff face challenges to help YAs overcome these emotions by recurrent talks and assuring that the team would be a ‘call away’.