Application for Project Funding

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Application for Project Funding

1.0 /

About the Organization

1.1. / General Information
1.1.1 / Name of the Organization / Salaam Baalak Trust
1.1.2 / Postal address and telephone numbers in India / 2nd Floor, DDA Community Centre
Chandiwali Gali, Paharganj
New Delhi 110 055
1.1.3 / Postal address and telephone numbers in U.S. (if applicable) / N.A.
1.1.4 / Tax Id / AADTS7874B
1.1.5 / FCRA Registration No. / 231650618
1.1.6 / Society Registration No: (if applicable)
1.1.7 / Mission and Vision of the organization / Vision
For children with no home, Life is a fast train to nowhere. Salaam Baalak Trust, works to restore them to, the World of childhood, take them for a lonely dead end, to bonding, learning and the joy of a professional life
Salaam Balaak Trust (SBT) works towards the creation of a just and equitable society, which respects the rights of the child to education, health & nutrition, family environment, recreation & constructive participation.
Mission
SBT aims to provide a sensitive and caring environment to street & working children and other children on the margins of society.
It seeks to dissolve the barriers that rob children of the opportunity to realize their rights.
1.1.8 / Organization WWW address / www. salaambaalaktrust.com
1.1.9 / Names and profiles of Directors/Core people involved in the organization / Annexure-1
1.1.10 / Major Focus Area / ڤ Basic Health ڤ Child Labor Eradication
ڤ Primary Education ڤ Non-formal Education
ڤ Children with special needs ڤ Disaster relief
ڤ Other (please specify): Street & Working children (runaway children who do not have any anchor in Delhi)
1.2 / Background/History

Introduction

Since it’s inception in 1988, after the success of the film ‘Salaam Bombay’, Delhi-based Salaam Balaak Trust has been dedicated to the care and protection of neglected street children, regardless of caste, color, creed or religion. By working in and around New Delhi Railway Station, at crowded bus stops, congested business and tourist areas and slums. SBT provides aid for nearly 5000 children annually through our various programs, shelters and activities.

Vision / Mission Statement

To create a nurturing environment that can foster normal physical and mental growth of such children to allow them to regain their self-confidence and to return to the mainstream society and eventually contribute to its development.

Programmes

Contact Points

These are points from where contacts are made with new arrivals and also with working children for whom they work as day care centers. Where they are provided with proper nutrition, clothing, medical aid, recreational facilities etc.
Primary task of these contact points is Counseling, Repatriation of runaway kids back to their families and Rehabilitation by referring full care shelters run by the agency or other NGO’s depending on the age group.
Since most children are school dropouts, emphasis is given to basic literacy and non-formal education through social workers or teacher to build up their foundation in a proper way.
Many children coming to the contact points have high-risk behavior and so it is important for them to give them information on health & hygiene, prevention of substance abuse, HIV/AIDS prevention, STI treatment and reproductive health.
SBT works through the following contact points established in central zone of New Delhi:
1. General Reserve Police or G.R.P CENTER, New Delhi Railway StationSituated at New Delhi railway station, this was the first Center from where SBT started its operations 15 years ago. This half-day care center provides the basic contact with the children, reassuring them about the Trust’s concern for them by providing medical assistance, non-formal education, and recreation, games & awareness programs. 2. PLATFORM, New Delhi Railway Station
Platform has been a contact point, which was operational off & on in the past, but in 2000-2001 it has become a permanent Contact Point.
Platform school which now has over 20 boys and girls came into existence in 1996 and is also a contact point for street children at car park Ajmeri gate, New Delhi Railway Station. The target group is street & working children between 8- 17 years at platform school.
Platform caters to the needs of those children who leave their homes due to poverty, ill treatment by guardian or parents and land up at the New Delhi Railway Station.
It is crucial to find the runaway children as soon as they arrive at the station; otherwise they fall in wrong company or drug peddlers and thieves. Social workers constantly conduct field visits on the platforms and are on the look out of new children and motivate them to come to the contact point or shelter.

3. KISHALAYA - HANUMAN MANDIR, CONNAUGHT PLACE

Kishalaya at Hanuman Mandir has been a regular day center since it was opened in December 1999. It caters to over 25 boys and girls in the age group of 3-18 years. Since most of the children are drug-addicts, 100% de-addiction is our main aim and also our goal is to bring the children to the main stream of the society.

Activities

·  Counseling children to achieve reunion with their families.
·  Provision of proper nutrition, clothing and hygiene facilities.
·  On-going education, through non-formal education and the National Open School (NOS) system.
·  Provision of first aid, medical check ups and tests, HIV/AIDS testing (on voluntary basis), and referral to drug de-addiction programmes.
·  Recreational facilities: art and craft, music, out-door indoor games, excursions within Delhi, and an annual educational tour to hill station.
·  Encouragement to save money through savings schemes with inbuilt financial incentives.
·  Building awareness of child rights, in association with Child Rights Club and Bal Adhikar Manch.
·  Fostering a sense of communal harmony and an awareness of other religions, through observance of all major festivals.
·  Capacity building of the contact point staff on regular basis

Shelters Programs

Full care centers
These shelters provide the children a secure place; where they feel safe and loved. As we know, what these children really need is to be loved. This enables them to experience the joys of childhood, something we take for granted. And support them emotionally in their formative years. These children reach the shelter through Childline, SBT’s Contact Points at GRP, Hanuman Mandir and New Delhi Railway Station Platform, Directly or through concerned Citizens.
The shelters are divided according to age groups and needs.
1. Aasra – a Shelter for boys between 5-12 years
Aasra, one of the oldest shelters of Salaam Baalak Trust was started in 1992 in Paharganj, near the New Delhi railway station. Today, Aasra literally meaning shelter provides a home away from home for over 50 children, who have run away from their home due to abject poverty and often accompanied by physical or mental abuse.
As these children had to abandon their homes at a tender age after leading a traumatic childhood, the primary task here is to stabilize these children. Provide a nurturing and loving environment to rediscover their lost childhoods and start on the road to recovery. This is a long drawn and frustrating process. But eventually, if the child chooses to make a difference in his life by taking charge of it, success is ours.
2. APNA GHAR – a Shelter for boys 10-15 years
Apna Ghar, literally meaning Own Home, is a full care home of Salaam Baalak Trust started in 1999. At present it houses around 63 children who are taught to adjust into the main frame of the society and modify their behavior accordingly through extensive counseling. The children are helped to think independently and rationally about their own problems & situations. The staff assists them in understanding and analyzing the source of their problems.
Knowing that this is the age (10-15 yrs) when the children acquire their foothold in the world and gain a sense of self; Apna Ghar provides the children an avenue through performing arts to explore their talent, as well as a sense of self worth and self-confidence.
3. DROP-IN-SHELTER – A Shelter for older working children
It is easier to motivate, repatriate or rehabilitate younger children as compared to the older ones. They need more freedom; specific counseling and vocational training. Keeping this in mind, Salaam Baalak Trust started a 24 hours Drop-in-shelter in 1997. It caters to the needs of older street and working children, 14 -18 years of age and who wants to have an independent existence.
Any boy can drop in at any time and avail the facilities so as to have a better environment away from the polluted environment of New Delhi Railway Station. They can drop-in any time to take a shower, wash their clothes, eat or rest.
4. ARUSHI – A Shelter for girls
Life is tough for the children living on the street and the railway station. But if you happen to be a girl, the difficulties just multiply. For they often become easy victims of pimps and are lured or forced into prostitution.
Ironically the girls who supposedly escape from being sold are not much lucky either. They end up selling themselves day-in and day-out simply to survive. Street girls at the railway station are vulnerable due to lack of a shelter to stay at night, which makes them vulnerable to sexual abuse by the older boys and men at the station.
The stories of plight of these girls gave birth to Arushi. A safe haven created with the help of USAID, in October 1999. It is situated far away from the railway station in Uttam Nagar in West Delhi. True to its name, which means the first ray of the sun, Arushi has today grown up to literally become a ray of hope for so many young girls.
Activities
·  Safe Environment: Having faced innumerable miseries and trauma, these children need to be stabilized by providing safe shelters. SBT aims to provide a place for these children, which they can call their own. Our experience shows that providing shelter is the greatest milestone in rehabilitating and mainstreaming these lost children.
·  Education: Great emphasis is laid on Formal Schooling i.e. admitting children to regular private or public schools. Apart from this some children also go through Non formal schooling, and National Open School systems of education. Children are assisted in their homework and are provided extra tuition/remedial classes.
·  Clothing & Nutrition: Proper school uniform, shoes, summer and winter dress and other daily wear clothes are provided to these children. Emphasis is laid on provision of balanced diet and nutritious food for them.
·  Health: Regular medical check ups of the children are done at the shelters. Individual health cards are maintained for each child. Whenever required pathological tests are conducted as per the recommendation of the doctors. We have a full time doctor employed with SBT solely for this purpose. Apart from that we also invite external doctors or get our children treated by specialists.
·  Sports: We have a full time sports coordinator for SBT. The children get training in various sports like cricket, soccer and squash. Children also attend swimming and karate classes and participate in various local and inter-organizational games & sports competitions.
·  Recreation: Boys and girls of the shelters learn dance and music from renowned artists. Annual excursions and tours are organized for children for at least 10 days to beautiful hill stations and tourist spots within the country. Weekly sight seeing, outings, and screening of movies is also done for the children.
·  Life Skills Includes enhancing the day-to-day life decision taking ability and providing livelihood options through vocational training, education and job provisions. We have full time life skills co-coordinator employed with SBT. Structured modules and guidelines are prepared to strengthen the activities, with assistance from respective coordinators & counselors.
·  Income Generation: SBT children are involved in candle making and paper mache work. The sale of these products is made at various places like FabIndia, Dilli Haat, Full Circle etc and the amount received is put into the respective child’s saving account.
·  Vocational Training: Is provided to the children above 15 years according to their interest and aptitude. A lot of SBT children have been trained in trades such as candle making, tailoring, electrician, motor mechanic, cooking, photography, computer, driving etc.
·  Skill development: training in crafts, music, needlecraft, handicraft etc are given to the children.
·  Job Placement: After providing vocational training SBT also assists children in getting suitable employment. The trust supports promising candidates by providing small loans in order to help establish them in small-scale businesses or jobs

Outreach Centers

Akanksha
The activities of Salaam Baalak Trust don’t end with working with street and working children. It also undertakes a preventive programme for street and working children in the surrounding slums at Akanksha. Ever since its inception in 1993, Akanksha has been focusing on preventing the children in the slum area from becoming street children by providing formal & remedial education. Today over 130 boys and girls in the 6-18 years age group are provided with formal, non-formal education especially for girl child, medical aid and check up, recreation facilities and Vocational Training.
Special education format has been prepared for the slum area. It starts with Formal coaching classes for school going children, and the dropouts are encouraged to study through National Open School (NOS). For children who are unable to go to school for various reasons