A 12-year-old kid named Siva was rescued by our team from the Villupuram railway station on 14th December 2020 in the afternoon. Our outreach worker found him wandering around on platform no. 1 and was all alone and so the he decided to go and have a conversation with Siva. He then took Siva to the child help desk where he was provided with refreshments and then Siva was then sent to the open shelter after completing the medical procedure.
During the counselling sessions at the shelter, Siva told us that he is from Andhra Pradesh and was staying with his family. He stays in a village and his parents work there as daily wage workers and has 4 siblings. Out of the four, three of them are married and Siva is the youngest. Siva’s mother tongue is Telegu language but he speaks in Tamil and understands most of Tamil and Hindi too.
Reason why he left home
Siva said that he is a 4th standard dropout and was really interested in his studies, but as his family kept migrating from one state to another in search of jobs, he couldn’t get a proper education and care from his parents. It was clearly evident that he was devoid of love and affection from his parents because of which he had attempted to leave his home earlier too. This was the third time he left home and the earlier two times he left he was rescued and sent to open shelter.
His stay at the open shelter
Siva spent around a month in the open shelter and was provided with counselling sessions once every week and was introduced to creative activities like painting, drawing and craft. He was also engaged in non-formal activities and daily exercises, meditation and games. He was then encouraged to focus on his studies and the counsellor made him understand how it is important to have a good education as well as maintain good relations with his parents.
Counselling with the family
During the family counselling sessions, we found out that the family is not worried about Siva and his future and wellness. They had a lot of other problems to deal with so they couldn’t provide care and protection to Siva and seemed as if they weren’t interested in his future. We made them understand that it is very dangerous when a child eaves home and they should change their attitude towards him.
Going back home
Siva was finally sent back home with his parents and obeyed to whatever they said. Siva realised that he made a mistake by leaving his home and decided not to hang out with the unwanted friends given his family background and situation. He was willing to go back to school and resume studying in 4th standard. Counselling sessions were being conducted once every week and Siva and his parents too spoke to the counsellor. He also showed interest in extra-curricular activities and concentrated on his studies.
