Girls Home - Salaam Baalak Trust

Introduction-  Aarushi Children’s Home (CHG) is run by Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) for girls in need of care and protection in Gurugram, Haryana. A 24*7 children’s home, Aarushi provides care and protectionto children in vulnerable and distressed situation.The home is run by a professional team comprising of a Coordinator, counselor, medical social worker and social workers.There were 60 beneficiaries in the reporting period. Progress OverviewEducation:Formingeducationasthebasisofengagingwithgirlsfortheiroveralldevelopment,Arushi team has been providing girls multiple opportunities for learning and development. To this end, a strong and technically sound education system has been put in place at Aarushi.Theprogrammeencompassesthreekeymodesofeducationtomeettheindividualneedsofgirlsgiven their varied levels of academic exposure:·        Non-Formal education-The girls who have been out of school for a substantial period of time or have never been enrolled in one are provided intensive non-formal education through interactive and joyful methods of pedagogy. ·        Open Learning- Some girls who are not able to cope up with educational demands at school are linked to open schooling and are provided in-house academic support by teachers at Arushi. Since, these girls do not go to schools they are given opportunities for extracurricular activities and latent talent development. ·        Formal school- Children who have been out of school for a short period and excel academically are linked to formal schools and are given in-house educational support to complete their school homework and assignments. In addition computer classes, quizzes andother educational sessions are also organised to enhance girls overall personality development.  During the reporting period, 28 girls are enrolled in formal school. Five girls are studying through NIOS and 27 girls were linked with non-formal education (NFE).Food and nutrition services- Children living in the home are provided with nutritious and seasonal food to boost up their immunity since they are susceptible to many infections and diseases. It is ensured that they are given balanced diet as per the norms of Juvenile Justice Act. All the meals consist of carbohydrates, protein and fibre. The menu is made in consultation with the girls.The girls who fall sick or are comparatively weak than other girls are provided special/ extra diet.They were also being provided with various supplements such as vitamin C, Iron and calcium.    Regular sessions were taken with the children by the medical social worker about the value of nutritious food, avoiding junk food and about maintaining hygiene to ensure good health. Vocational Training and Rehabilitation-Girls who are above 18 years of age are prepared for independent living under the rehabilitation programme at Arushi CHG. The psychologist and the team at Arushi CHG work with girls to encourage them to learn practical life skills like - money management, healthy eating habits etc. Apart from this, individual sessions are provided to help girls get over their fear and concern of living alone. To facilitate the transition from Arushi CHG to a place of their own, the girls are provided essentials such as groceries, kitchen goods, bedding and rent for a monthDue to the pandemic, vocational training institutes were closed but most of the girls took virtual computer classes. 4 girls were rehabilitated after they got jobs in acall centre .Maintenance and Repair-Aarushi home has a big building and require regular maintenance due to the continuous wear and tear. During the reporting period, electricity work was done so that the children are safe. Summers were approaching so the coolers were also repaired as many of them were not working. Each dormitory now has a working cooler.Security Services-Aarushi home has 24*7 security so that the girls are safe at all times. The home has 24*7 security service and two guards are appointed for 12 hour shift each. They keep the record of visitors and staff coming and going out of the centre. During Covid, the guards were responsible for taking the temperature and ensuring that the staff enters the centre only after sanitizing their hands and belongings.  Challenges due to COVID-19- ·        Children have been home bound for over a year now and this has led to many psychological issues amongst the children.·        Online classes too posed challenges initially as there were limited computers.Case Study S* came to Salaam Baalak Trust three years back. Her mother passed away when she was quite young and father was quite aggressive and alcoholic. He was unable to take care of the child and did not have job. Her father was pushing the child towards prostitution so she ran away from home. She was placed in Arushi by CWC. S* had a lot of emotional issues initially and would not trust other children easily. She would have frequent nightmares and was grieving her mother.She was provided counselling and was enrolled in a good private school. Within few months, the staff felt that she was doing very in academics and emotionally also was setting well. She was motivated further and was provided individual attention to cope up with the academics.She is at present in 7th standard and secured 80 percent in 6th class. She loves to dance and is also taking computer classes. She is a quick learner and has grasped the basics very easily.S * aspires to be a doctor when she grows up and SBT is supporting her to do well.