Ashalayam - Other activities

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Mission statement

Staff of Ashalayam

Approach

Specifics

Street activities

Home activities

Other activities

	Asha Shramik
	Sanjog Project
	Asha Nayan Project
	A documentation centre
	Partnerships
	But also:

Yesterday & Today


	Other activities

Asha Shramik ( ASP)

Started in 2002, this project fights against the exploitation of child labourers in the slums and in the poor regions of Dasnagar, Tikiapara, Liluah, Belilious Road, etc. The main objectives are:

1. Identify the child labourers or potential child labourers
2. Integrate them into the project of Asha Shramik
3. Bring them the necessary material and infrastructural aids like medical aid, nutritional program, etc.

The Sanjog project ( Belilious Road )

Sanjog (meaning “linkage” in Bengalee) indicates a consortium of 5 NGO partners, specialized in the domains of the mobility, migrations, drug trafficking and sexual exploitation of the children in West Bengal, in India and in Bangladesh. Sanjog aims at fighting against the traffic and the sexual exploitation of the children.

A coordination office was inaugurated in Ashalayam in September 2003, the purpose of which was to form and to facilitate partnerships between the members. The main areas of intervention are:

1. Protection of the children
2. Psychosocial rehabilitation of the children victims of drug trafficking or sexual abuses
3. Intensification of the regional cooperation

This programme is sponsored and co-financed by GROUPE DEVELOPPEMENT and by the EUROPEAN COMMISSION.

The Asha Nayan Project

This project is to offer a new device to host and help the street children of the city. The children of this area of Calcutta face big danger, as this district is the hub of the prostitution and sexual abuse and exploitation.

The city offers an environment in which it is very difficult for the street children to survive. Beside being victims of violence, the presence of tourists forces them to begging activity. These children are thus deprived and destroy themselves every day a little more.

Drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, thefts and attacks are a part of their existence, while most have even not reached the age of 10 or 12.

It is this very particular context which urged Ashalayam to be present in the town centre of Calcutta, to reach the "street addicted" children. Asha Nayan is not only a host centre, but also a concept offering a complementarity of services that goes from the prevention to the social rehabilitation of the beneficiaries.

This project is sponsored by ECPAT Luxemburg and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A documentation centre (Belilious Road)

The centre has been inaugurated by the Minister of Employment of the West Bengal. The information collected by working with the street children and the data of the children staying in our homes are recorded there. This allows us a more professional follow-up of each one and we are able to supply information to those who wish to study the phenomenon of the street children.

Books and reviews on this subject are listed there. Ashalayam is a training place for numerous Indian or foreigner students from universities or educators' schools.

The activities of the centre are:

1) Management of statistics about the children of Ashalayam
2) Regular update of the history of every child including : photo and identity, past of the child, school progresses, medical status, vocational training, realized savings, etc.

To achieve this work, Ashalayam uses a specially designed on-line software called Home-Link. This is connected with other associations in India, all specialized in the field of working with the street children. So, it is possible to exchange information and to inform about all the activities realized to fight against this phenomenon.

On the other hand, this program also manages the data of the missing children (MCS, Missing Children Search) through an Internet site. The information concerning every announced disappearance is introduced into the system and put at the disposal of various associations.

	Partnerships
	• In association with the Howrah District Administration, a survey on the exploitation of the Child Labourers in the district of Howrah and Hooghly was done • Participation in coordination meetings with NGO’s working in the childhood field • The network of the Support Groups of Ashalayam (called ASA) in France, Switzerland, and in England

But also:

• Scout activities and L.T.S. (Leadership Training Service) for all the children of the homes
• Cultural education through lessons of music, singing, theatre, drawing
• Annual summer camps for the junior and senior children
• Meditation and universal praying (but not confessional) sessions in every home
• Annual concert, studio recording of a cassette of songs and music
• Monthly festive evenings in Ashalayam for all the children
• " Annual Cooking Day " celebration (also called Food mela)
• Monthly staff and volunteers meetings