Salaam Baalak Trust
| Salaam Baalak Trust | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Abbreviation | SBT |
| Formation | 1988 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose/focus | support for street children and working children |
| Location | New Delhi Mumbai |
| Staff | 85 [1] |
| Website | Salaam Baalak Trust , Delhi website |
Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) is an Indian Non-profit and Non-governmental organization, established in 1988 with the proceeds from the film "Salaam Bombay!" (1988) made on street children by noted film director, Mira Nair,[2][3] which provides support for street and working children in inner cities of New Delhi, and Mumbai, this includes providing education, basic literacy and schooling, full care facilities for the young (up to 12 years), drop-in shelters for older children, health care and counselling in HIV/AIDS and TB awareness.
Today SBT runs, five 24-hour full care shelters for children, with one devoted to girl children, (Arushi),[4] in Mumbai, Delhi and Bhubaneshwar; five outreach contact points mostly near railway stations and a 24-hour toll-free helpline service, catering to children in distress all over India, in all looking after 5,000 children every year.[5]
It is also a project 'H71 partner NGO' of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which whom its runs its 'Kishalaya Centre',[6] and awareness programme at YMCA, Mumbai.[7]
Today, SBT children, who have been trained in theatre, dance and puppetry, are giving performances all over the world [8]
Since 2007 SBT Delhi is running the Salaam Baalak City Walk - New Delhi, a guided tour through Paharganj and New Delhi Railway Station area. The guides are former street children from the trust. The walk aims to sensitize about street life, street children and Indian society problems. During the walk the guides share their personal story of survival with the participants and show them the contact points and shelter homes SBT provides.The walk also provides an opportunity for the young people to improve their communication and marketing skills. All proceeds go directly to the trust to enable more opportunities to be made for street children so the walk is 100% non-profit making.
History
Original established in 1988, to rehabilitate the children who appeared in the film, Salaam Bombay! (1988) in Mumbai, Salaam Baalak Trust started working in 1989, and by 2005 it had seventeen centre for street child throughout India.[9]
In New Delhi, SBT started its operations with 25 children in the open-air balcony at the police station at the New Delhi Railway Station, when three trustees inspired by the film, started caring for them.[10]
Starting 1999, Family Health International (FHI), with funding from USAID, started working with the SBT, on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, while supplying, street children aged between 4 and 13 with food, medical aid, education, and essential supplies.[10][11][12] Over the its shelters have been visited by various national and international dignitaries, including, Tony Blair and Cherie Blair (2005).[13][14]
Since 2003, it has also been working with volunteers from University College Dublin Volunteers Overseas, (UCDVO).[15] In 2006, Salaam Baalak Trust won the ‘Civil Society Award’ from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and UNAIDS.[16] Earlier in March, it started a guided city walk, through the areas managed by the Trust, its shelters, contact points, and areas around the New Delhi Railway Station in Paharganj, where the streen children live and earn a living, doing menial jobs, the tour guided by former street children themselves, sensitizing people about the lives of street children in Delhi, and the turnaround possible in their lives, when given an opportunity.[17][18][19]
Its latest home, Arushi, built exclusively for girls, was open in New Delhi, in August 2008, and provides shelter to over 70 girls,[20] the Arushi centre at Gurgaon, also opened in 2008, houses around 45 girls, aged between five and 18.[21]
Residential programs
- Arushi-Shelter for Girls
- Aasra- Shelter for Boys
- Apna Ghar- Shelter for Boys
- Drop-In Shelter- Shelter for Boys
- Short Stay Home
Educational programs
SBT is working with National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Formal Education it is also offering Non-Formal Education (NFE) and Bridge Education/ Course to street children. Apart from this it also runs, Mobile Learning Centre (Mobile school), along with Government of Delhi, covering area around Connaught Place, New Delhi.[22]
Further reading
- India: the forgotten children of the cities, by Amrita Chatterjee. Published by UNICEF International Child Development Centre, 1992. ISBN 88-85401-08-2, ISBN 978-88-85401-08-2. Caste Studies VI:Jagriti; Page 32
References
- ^ SBT Child Rights and You (CRY).
- ^ An emotional get-together The Hindu, Dec 05, 2004.
- ^ Mira Nair Salaam Baalak Trust: For the children...
- ^ Salaam Baalak Trust www.indianngos.com.
- ^ Street kids paint a restaurant Madhur Tankha, The Hindu, Delhi, Jun 30, 2005.
- ^ Salaam Baalak Trust " United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)", India.
- ^ Peer Outreach Worker, Salaam Baalak Trust, Mumbai (SBT), India. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), India.
- ^ Two strings to the bow The Hindu, Aug 08, 2008."Journalist:“You don’t look like street kids.” The young artiste kept his cool, saying, “If you want us to dress like that, in torn clothes, we can.”
- ^ Salaam Baalak Trust Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair, by John Kenneth Muir. Published by Hal Leonard, 2006. ISBN 1-55783-649-3, ISBN 978-1-55783-649-6. page 61.
- ^ a b Street Children and Youth Get a Chance in India "Family Health International ".
- ^ U.S. Official Visits Salaam Baalak Trust's Shelter for Children newdelhi.usembassy.gov. April 28, 2006.
- ^ U.S. Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher Visits Salaam Baalak's Shelter for Children USAID, August 5, 2006.
- ^ PM visits project aimed at helping poorest Indian kids www.number10.gov.uk- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom website, September 8, 2005.
- ^ Meeting Delhi's street children BBC News, September 7, 2005.
- ^ Work in Delhi University College Dublin Volunteers Overseas.
- ^ FHI-Supported Projects Recognized on World AIDS Day "Family Health International "., “Salaam Balaak Trust for an HIV prevention project targeting vulnerable street children and youth in Delhi”.
- ^ Indian Street Kids Offer Glimpse Into Their Lives With Guided Tours South Asian Women's Forum, May 22, 2006.
- ^ Runaway guides The Hindu, Businessline, April 6, 2007.
- ^ Discover a Delhi underbelly you never knew, through the eyes of child guides The Telegraph, March 12, 2007.
- ^ Salaam Baalak Trust opens a new home exclusively for girls.. Tehelka, Vol 5, Issue 33, Aug 23, 2008.
- ^ Arushi (Salaam Baalak Trust), Gurgaon Tehelka, Oct 25 2008.
- ^ Sheila Dikshit launches two mobile schools The Hindu, Feb 11, 2008.
External links
- Salaam Baalak Trust , Delhi website
- Salaam Baalak Trust, Mumbai Website
- Salaam Baalak Trust videos
- Salaam Baalak at Flickr.
- Monsoon Trust for Salaam Baalak
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