A year is much too long a gap to wait between visiting Kolkata. Not only that, I was reminded by a couple of the teenagers that I had said I would return within 6 months – I felt so bad.
These street children have nothing to look forward to in life so any small event in their lives, which would bring happiness, will surely not be forgotten. In their current situation they do not know what the future means to them, they do not dare to have dreams.
This April I was accompanied by two
Associates of the VITAL-ITALY team, Allegra & Federica, Haley, our latest volunteer & Mithra (Trustee).I suggested to my team to walk into the New Market school first to experience the warm welcome these children will shower upon us & I would film it. Little was I expecting the reaction in store for me.
As soon as they saw me they all jumped up
& screamed & hugged me. Even 17 year old Sabir had a big smile for me & shyly shook my hand. This is the big tough guy on the streets!
There was a group of Irish teenagers visiting the children & one of them asked “Who is that? Saint Nicholas?” They were astonished like we were.
Along with the annual trip to the Water
Park which the children so eagerly looked forward to, we were able to visit 3 new projects to fund due to the many generous donations received in the last 6 months.
Partnering with CRY once again, we agreed to fund a project helping children living at 4 different railway stations. Following the VITAL ethos of creating
change with a sustainable future, this project not only rescues children living in the railway
stations by reuniting them with their families, it also advocates for the promotion of alternative care – trying to look at
institutionalization as the last resort where family or parental care was not
in the best interest of the children.
The program evolved
around the
Convention on the Rights of the Children and the Juvenile Justice
Act as the foundation pillars.
We then visited a project for children at
risk living alone on the streets of Kolkata, or whose parents are not in a
position to support their protection or children in crisis as a result of
trauma, abuse, neglect & violence
(either physical or sexual).
The
Crisis Intervention project offers immediate, short-term help to individuals who experience an event
that result in emotional, mental, physical, and behavioural distress or
problems.
This project is a short term solution, as
children move from crisis into long term supported. It addresses the needs of the victim
without delay and addresses the fundamental rights and dignity in all human
beings to receive timely support and care.
Our last project we visited was The Keertika
project. Its aim is to provide shelter, nutrition, medical care, necessary
legal
and psychological counselling and
legal assistance to girls in distressed and difficult
circumstances.
They are mostly victims of
trafficking and other forms of violence including sexual harassment/assault,
domestic violence, trafficking and forced engagement in the sex trade.
It was sad saying goodbye. The
children were visibly distressed so I had to make it short & quick. I
wished I could take them with me to the land of plenty but even to take one or
two for a couple of weeks over the summer was a request that gave me a
look of “are you out of your mind?”
I am definitely returning in
November. No question about it.
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