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North-East India borders with some of the poorest countries in the world: Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim. Siliguri, close to the border line of North-East Bengal, is a key transit point for infant trafficking, child abuse and child sale, for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery. Some of the established tea gardens in Darjeeling district like Panighatta Tea Estate and Gulma Tea Estate have witnessed unsafe migration mixed with illicit human trafficking has mushroomed as one of the most serious problems within the area, increasing its vulnerability coefficient. |
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Pyari Child Protection Outreach Project aims to rescue and restore trafficked and abandoned children in North East Bengal from transit points like the bus stands and railway stations, busy markets through a monitoring mechanism that will involve the community people living in and around the vulnerable areas, railway staff, transport services, shopkeepers and porters. We provide holistic and integrated services including rescue, safe shelter, food, health services, legal aid and restoration for street children by strengthening linkages with community people, police and railway personnel, government hospitals, State Legal Aid Forum.
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Protection
On identification of children at risk, information will be given to the local police station and the rescued child will be kept in a licensed home. Information on the rescued child will also be given to the Child Welfare Committee and based on their advice, appropriate support will be given to the child in the form of shelter, intensive counselling etc. For children who can provide information about their families and are in need of
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restoration, efforts will be made to restore the child to her/his family. The outreach workers will make visits to the homes of restored children to follow up on their rehabilitation.
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Community Based Child Protection Monitoring Cells
Community based child protection monitoring cells around the transit points and market places in Siliguri, and in Panighatta and Gulma tea estates in Darjeeling district will help in monitoring the movement of children at risk of being trafficked or abandoned, and also provide rescue and restoration services to such children.
Identify influential people from the community, police and railway staff, shopkeepers, porters and transport services who are in direct and indirect contact with target children, to form groups of community volunteers to initiate community based monitoring cells in Siliguri and in the tea garden areas. The identified team will then be trained in various laws and Acts in India related to prevention of trafficking, early marriage and child labour as well as on unsafe migration, child rights, child abuse, child labour and services available for children in need of care and protection. This will help the groups to be equipped to identify and refer high-risk children for rescue and restoration. The impact of these trainings can be measured through the total number of children referred by the community based monitoring cells.
Sustainability
Over the course of two to three years the community people in Siliguri, Panighatta and Gulma tea estates will be empowered with the right knowledge on trafficking, unsafe migration and child rights and abuse. They will also be closely working with local NGOs and law enforcement agencies during the rescue and restoration of children with support from Pyari that will help them build in a good rapport with the government officials. Through community ownership and better networking the child protection programme can be sustained in the future.
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