The loudspeaker crackles. Trains rumble in and out. Commuters rush past in a blur. Amid it all stands a child, barefoot and anxious, his eyes scanning the crowd. He isn’t a passenger; he’s waiting for someone—a man his parents trust to offer him a job that promises to lift their family out of poverty. But what awaits him outside the railway station is not opportunity, it’s exploitation.

A gruelling 12-hour shift in unsafe conditions. Wages too meagre to matter. No school, no play, no protection. Just endless work, isolation, and vulnerability. The dangers are immediate: hazardous environments, physical abuse, and emotional trauma. But what’s harder to see is the damage within: the stolen dreams, the constant fear, and the deep ache for a childhood lost too soon.

Child labour is more than a statistic. It is more than a development issue or even a humanitarian crisis. It is poverty that crushes innocence, hunger that suffocates ambition, and burdens that snatch away the right to just be a child.

At railway stations across India, where thousands of children arrive alone, confused, and at risk, Railway Children India (RCI) works tirelessly to break this cycle. Our teams are often the first line of defense, intervening before a child slips through the cracks. Understanding that child labour is a complex, multi-layered problem, RCI takes a comprehensive, compassionate, and child-first approach. From protection to rehabilitation, our mission is to ensure every child has the chance to grow up safe, free, and full of hope.

Here’s how we do it.

1. Safeguarding Transport Terminals: The First Line of Defence

Children fleeing poverty, abuse, or neglect often use public transport networks such as trains and buses to travel alone in search of safety or better opportunities. However, in the absence of a strong safety net, these journeys can leave them vulnerable to trafficking and exploitative labour.

To stop this from happening, we:

  • Establish and secure Child Help Desks at major terminals to immediately identify and assist children at risk.
  • Conduct street plays within station and bus terminal premises to educate passengers about child protection and how to report suspected cases of trafficking or child labour.
  • Carry out awareness campaigns targeting porters, sanitation workers, vendors, and station staff to equip them with knowledge to identify and report at-risk children.

2. Training Stakeholders: Creating a Widespread Circle of Safety

Appointed as the key resource agency on child protection by Indian Railways, Railway Children India has co-created Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) and helped transform over 140 stations into child-friendly spaces. Through this, we’ve built a nationwide network of 46,000+ trained child protection champions from railway staff and GRP to vendors and sanitation workers, equipped to identify and respond to children at risk.

Additionally, we conduct Child Help Group meetings that bring together key stakeholders under one roof to review child protection cases, share critical updates, and align efforts to safeguard vulnerable children.

3. Community Intervention: Tackling the Root Before It Grows

We believe true prevention starts before a child ever reaches the railway station. In vulnerable communities, our outreach teams work to build awareness, trust, and action.

  • Parent Groups are formed and educated about the dangers of child labour and the importance of keeping children in school.
  • Peer Leaders, often adolescents who have overcome difficult pasts, act as change agents—spreading awareness among other children and helping spot those at risk.

4. Providing Essential Support: Meeting Immediate Needs

Poverty often forces families to push children into work. To reduce this pressure, we provide critical support in the form of ration kits, nutrition kits, and school kits to help children return to or stay in school without the burden of unaffordable supplies.

These interventions serve a dual purpose: addressing basic needs while keeping children away from exploitative work.

5. Family Reintegration: Rebuilding the Safest Place a Child Can Be

Our team conducts careful home assessments, counsels the child and their caregivers, and creates follow-up plans to ensure long-term stability. We also link families to government schemes, social protection networks, and skill-building opportunities, so they can become economically resilient and less dependent on child income.

Together, We Can Put a Stop to Child Labour: One Child, One Community at a Time

Every child deserves a safe childhood filled with learning, laughter, and love. But the reality is that child labour still robs millions of that right. At Railway Children India, we believe that with the right intervention, the cycle can be broken.

Whether it’s a child found alone at a platform, a peer leader raising awareness in their community, or a parent learning that help exists, change is already happening. And your support can be its catalyst.