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India: Delhi
Usman stood outside his home for nearly half an hour. He could not recognise the house. He had left his home at Moradabad (about 150 km from Delhi) more than five years ago and had been living with a group of boys of his age, 9 to 14 years old, in Delhi on the streets. Then his elder brother walked up and asked Usman what he was looking for. “I am looking for my home,” said Usman. Curiously his brother inquired, “Who are you?” On the reply, “I am Usman” his brother beamed with joy and thrust him inside the house. It was a wonderful reunion. Then Usman told them of the Night Shelter and the Boys’ Home of the Delhi Brotherhood Society. His mother immediately rang up Brother Raju and told him that Usman had reached home safe and sound after five years! After the summer vacation, Usman came back to the Boys’ Home to join the school. He could have stayed back home but he now knows that the key to a successful life is proper education.
This successful rehabilitation of a street boy was possible due to the services of the Childline and Night Shelter of the Delhi Brotherhood. Childline is a toll-free telephone service line provided by the government for children in distress. They can ring up and call for help. The Delhi Brotherhood looks after the East Delhi region of this capital city. The Childline office is open round the clock and help is available all the time. The children are produced before the Magistrate immediately and the decision is made where to keep them. Usman was kept at our Night Shelter. Observing his behaviour and aptitude, it was decided that he could be kept at the Boys’ Home and admitted in the school. Now he has been studying in the school for the last two years.
Children on streets have been increasing at an alarming rate in the last ten years. One reason is the exploding population. As the economic pressure on the joint family increases, the cases of child abuse – mainly in the form of scolding and beating – also increases. This causes a deep emotional rift, especially with the fathers and elder brothers. Such children leave home and go to the metropolitan cities usually with an older friend. Here they live to grow up to become addicted to drugs and eventually die young. Their malnourished bodies are unable to cope with the intensity of the drugs they administer. But the influence of narcotics numbs the pain and discomfort of their diseases and psychological maladies. For the sake of such children, the Childline organises regular training and building-awareness sessions every six months with the local hospitals, police and other agencies involved.
The Rescue of Children
A man called the Childline to inform us of the children whom he had seen working in three factories near his house. They were in a poor state and were made to work for 13 to 18 hours a day. Childline investigated immediately and acting with other involved agencies, such as the Government Labour Department and the police, raided the factories giving the owner no time to shift the children into hiding. We had to provide the children immediately with first aid and nutrients. Out of 50 boys rescued, five were from Nepal and 45 from Bihar. Fortunately, three parents also arrived at the police station. After gaining permission from the Magistrate, their children were restored to them and the rest of the children were sent to a shelter. Here they were provided with their basic needs and counselling. A report was lodged with the police for appropriate legal action against the owner of the factories for illegally engaging children for labour and for perpetrating atrocities on them.
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