MORE than 100 children are reported missing each day in India, according to an NGO for children, and these are just the reported cases. Either the children are lost or have run away from home but either way, these children are in a vulnerable situation. Having been separated from their parents and families, children suffer from fear and anxiety and this takes a toll on their physical health. Without basic essentials such as nutritious food or proper sleep, their health worsens and the children may develop severe psychological conditions from the trauma of being separated from their guardians and forced to face a world of strangers on their own. For a child, this is a frightening situation.
Railway stations across India are extremely busy places where, even if there was a lost child, they can easily be overlooked by the thousands of people who pass by them in a minute. Criminals are aware of this and, as such, use railway stations to find children who are separated from their families and lure them away from safety. Once these children fall into the hands of criminals or traffickers, they are often lost forever and used for begging, child labor, drug peddling or sexual exploitation. These children’s futures are cut short and their lives are changed from one of innocence to miserable suffering.
How this NGO for children steps in to save missing children
Railway Children India is a Delhi-based NGO for children that has a presence in 35 major railway stations across India. The teams from the NGO work with the Indian Railways and the local authorities and undergo training to be vigilant and watch the platforms for unattended children who may be in danger. Once the situation is assessed and a child is found to be in danger, the teams approach the child in a manner that is safe and not intimidating and gain the child’s trust to try to find out who they are, where their families are and why they are lost at a railway station.
If the teams from the NGO for children are unable to locate the child’s family members at the railway station, the child is brought to the NGO’s safe shelter and given clean water, nutritious food, medical attention and a short-term place to stay with access to a bed and bathroom while an effort is made to reunite them with their families. To support Railway Children India, you can donate here.
For a child, who is always under the watchful eyes of their parents, getting lost is a terrifying ordeal. It is difficult for any person to recover from, let alone a child. The NGO for children understands this and one of the crucial services it offers is emotional support and counseling for children. In speaking to the children, the NGO can calm their fears and give them the assurance that they are in safe hands until their families are located or they are placed in long term care.
For children who need long-term care, the NGO for children provides shelter and support until the best decision can be made for that child. In all its work, Railway Children India works with the local police and local authorities such as the Child Welfare Committee, the District Child Protection Units and other child care institutions.
The importance of monitoring the railway stations
Lopamudra Mullick of Railway Children India shares that “when the children are found at the railway stations, their clothes have become unclean and they haven’t bathed in days.” She explains that, according to research conducted by the NGO for children, almost 100,000 children go missing each year.
Lopamudra Mullick goes on to say that from the moment they set foot on the railway platform, it is estimated that if the NGO for children doesn’t reach out to them within 15-20 minutes, the children will never be heard from again. That is why the work of NGOs such as Railway Children India is so crucial; it stands as a guard between vulnerable children and ill-intentioned criminals.
The dangers that lost children at railways stations are in
“When abusers and traffickers see children sitting alone,” shares Lopamudra Mullick, they take them away and “subject them to physical abuse, rape, emotional abuse – you name it.” This mistreatment and abuse is difficult for a person to recover from, let alone a child. The NGO for children understands this and one of the crucial services it offers is counseling, emotional care and psychosocial support for children.
According to NCRB data, over 70% of all missing children in India are female. This opens up a whole new perspective on the situation. Girls who are stranded and alone are vulnerable to traffickers from red light districts who either kidnap them or lure them into brothels with promises of jobs and safe places to stay. Once the girls realize what has happened to them, it is often too late to escape and their lives have taken a turn for the worse. From little girls to grown women, they are forced to endure a lifetime of misery and abuse.
To make sure this situation never occurs, Railway Children India works in a quick and efficient manner to reach the children before criminals do. Since 2013, the NGO for children has protected more than 100,000 children in 23 railway stations across India. “Children are the future of the country. So, when we protect one child, it is protecting the future of India,” shares the NGO.
An appeal for help by this NGO for children
But this is a massive problem that Railway Children India can take on only with the help of compassionate individuals who want to join hands with the NGO for children so that lost and missing children can be kept safe. To support Railway Children India:
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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