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Activities in the street |
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Street contacts |
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They find in Ashalayam
a home-like environment. All the staff share the life of these
children; eat with them, play and work with them, sleep together
on mattresses in a huge dormitory…..breaking down, slowly
but steadily, the fears, suspicions and lack of trust these
children have built towards adults.
The preventive pedagogue of Don Bosco, by its idea of being
constantly present next to these children, tries to foresee
their problems before they can surface, solves them in time
and thus tries to avoids any sort of punishment. |
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Booth in Howrah Station (1999) |
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Right in the heart
of the biggest station of Calcutta, two educators are present
from 8 am till 8 pm, ready to welcome every child who needs
to speak and to receive an immediate answer under any emergency
situation (victim of a serious accident, beaten child, lost
child, etc.).
It is also the ideal place
to track down the children who recently arrived in the station
(dozens a day, some being trafficked) and to study the reasons
of their flight. We of course try to take back them home or
to bring them to Ashalayam if they want to. The place to set
up this Booth in Howrah Station was given to us by the Railway
Police authorities: a collaboration so established between
Ashalayam and the Railway Police Authorities for better protection
of the abandoned and lost children.
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"Childline", free telephone
line for the children in distress (1998) |
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In the city
of Calcutta, Ashalayam is one of both organizations who have
been appointed to run this program called Childline, under the
custody of the Central Government (Ministry for the Social Justice,
Delhi). Ashalayam manages the districts of Howrah, Hooghly and
a part of the South of Calcutta. The
idea is that every child in difficult situation or one in
which the child simply needs to speak, or every concerned
adult finding a beaten, lost or sick child, can compose 10-9-8
(ten-night eight) which is a toll-free number. Social workers
of Ashalayam, paid by the government, are ready night and
day to offer an attentive listening, to bring an immediate
answer to every case.
Childline concerns:
• The children living in the
streets and in the slums with families and those living alone
• The children rejected by their parents
• The orphans or children of prostitutes
• The children who are employed as domestics and more
particularly the girls.
The children undergoing physical, psychological
or sexual abuses at school or even at their own places
By dialling the number 1098, every
child can ask for :
• A shelter for the night
• Medical care
• Repatriation
• Protection against the sexual abuses
. Information on the existing organizations which can help
them
• An attentive ear
On average, 3,000 children a month are helped
by Childline.
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The Night shelters |
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The night shelter
are places where the street children can find a refuge, sleep
in safety, wash themselves, receive food complements, a medical
follow-up and advices for their everyday life.
1. ASHA PROTIK (night shelter for boys, Belilious Road, built
in 1991)
2. ASHA NAYAN (night shelter for boys, Calcutta, built in
2002) 3.
ASHA AGNES (night shelter for girls, Howrah, built in 2002)
4. ASHA KARUNAMOY (night shelters for girls, Howrah, built
in 2004) |
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The Melas |
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In Hindi and in
Bengalese, the word " Mela " means festival, carnival.
Since 1995, the children
of Ashalayam have been organizing this event for the children
still living in the street or in the station. It allows them
to take responsibilities and become integrated into the work
of Ashalayam by becoming at this occasion the organizers of
this event.
Every month, an average of 80 children
are invited to Ashalayam. They begin their day by washing
themselves and having their hair cut, if necessary, before
settling down in front of a film. After the lunch, the carnival
will begin : a set of small games at which the boys can win
toys and gadgets but also soap or toothpaste, useful for their
life in the street. At the end of the afternoon, the young
people of Ashalayam present to their small guests a spectacle
consisting of sketches, dances and songs. It is then the time
to dine. In the evening, all the children can sleep in the
night shelter, where they can stay for a few days. The next
day, the team of "Childline" sets up a program of
prevention and awareness on various issues like: STD, hygiene,
drugs, etc.
Point to be noted is that each Mela
has a specific theme |
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The street schools (NFE, Non Formal
Education) |
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This is a project
to help the children who have not gone to school or have at
some point of time dropped out from formal education. NFE paves
the way for their reinsertion into the formal education system
in public schools. These
schools are based in the street and in the slums. There, the
methodology differs from the traditional system and is there
to help the children to cope with concrete life problems.
The lessons are given by volunteers in English, Bengalee and
in Hindi and the children can also follow specially designed
courses in mathematics and languages.
The teaching and learning conditions
are often precarious (a bedcover on the ground in a courtyard
lent for the occasion) but, as in a true class, the children
must arrive on time, be clean dressed and brushed. The lessons
are completely free of charge and are followed by a small
meal. Ashalayam also offers to every child some indispensable
school stationeries as well as a monthly medical follow-up.
The educators use a flexible pedagogy, which is adapted to
the psychology of the children. Without imposing to them too
many rules, they slowly get used to the discipline and to
the learning process.
- In Sudder street Tuesdays and Thursdays
(since 1995)
- In Ichapur (since 1996)
- In Park street Wednesdays and Fridays (since 1998)
- Near the main stations of suburb: Konnanagar, Uluberia,
Bahir Gangarampur, Baidyabati, Kharagpur, Jagaddal, Shyamnagar,
Kancharapara, Seoraphuli, Burdwan (since 1999)
Started in 1995 with 2 centres and
50 children, this project counts more than 700 children spread
out in 11 centres today. |
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Mobile health clinic ( MHC) |
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The MHC project
started in 2002 and aims particularly at the health aspects
of the children who frequent the street schools. Ashalayam
supplies them monthly with :
• medical aid on the spot as
well as with medicines
• regular check up
• hospitalisation if the case is serious
• awareness of the parents in hygiene and in health
At present, 700 street children
are under medical control, in the regions of Park Street,
Sudder Street, Sealdah and in the districts of Hoogly and
Howrah.
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