CHILD-FRIENDLY STATIONS
In India, every five minutes a child arrives alone at a railway station. Immediately they face violence, exploitation and abuse. Reaching out to these vulnerable children while they are in a moving train or as soon as they arrive at a railway station is important for their protection and rehabilitation, preventing them from slipping into street life. Setting up child-friendly railway stations is what we do, to be able to reach and protect children before anyone else gets to them.
HERE’S HOW
- Our 24x7 outreach teams, together with Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force, work round the clock to recognize children who are alone and at risk at railway stations.
- We have established 24X7 Child Help Desks at each station location offering children at risk a place to go for food, water, first aid, advice and help.
- Our nearby shelter homes provide short-term accommodation for children with nowhere safe to stay. Here they access to non-formal education, recreational activities, nutrition & health services, hygiene and psycho-social therapy
- We reunite children with their families in consultation with the Child Welfare Committee, wherever it is safe. If this is not possible, we secure a long-term care home place for them.
- If going back to school is not an immediate option, children are encouraged to take on vocational training courses and apprenticeship opportunities so that they can secure and income for themselves in the future.
Every child that is reunited with their family, or settled into a long-term care home, is given follow up support for at least a year.
SDG’s addressed: 1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality
Railway Children India’s work began at railway stations in India, reaching and protecting vulnerable children accessing the railway network. As the canvas of child rights in India evolved, so did our work. Changing circumstances pushed us to adapt and address the needs of children in newer and more challenging circumstances, scaling our work to act and intervene for children in a crisis, while continuing to strengthen our existing project work.
