Railway Children India

Its volunteer teams are present at major stations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Tamil Nadu. These teams with the help of the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force identify children who are alone in the stations.

It provides food and first-aid to the children who have been brought to its 24-hour helpdesk nearby each station location. After the children are provided with initial help they are shifted to shelters managed by the organisation. These shelters also take care to arrange for education, recreation and medical support for the child.

It partners with Child Welfare Committees and attempts to reunite the children with their families, in case this is not possible they are provided with a home in long-term shelters where they undergo treatment for any kind of addiction. They are also provided with vocational training to enable them to have a better future.

In the process of saving children at railway stations, the organisation manages to educate station masters, station superintendents, commercial staff and railway police to enable them to help such children.

It has been inducted by the Ministry of Railways to create awareness amongst railway police personnel in its training facilities and also received recognition and acceptance by the Credibility Alliance for its services. It also tries to influence policy decisions to make provisions for the care and safety of such children.

It aims to involve the community and passengers in railway stations to help lost children through awareness campaigns and sessions. It believes that the community should develop into a safe place for children so that they never need to leave home.

It strives to strengthen and reinforce community structures through child-centric programmes to enable better governance and safety within communities.

District

Darbhanga

Kolkata

Vellore

Murshidabad

Malda

Jalpaiguri

Darjeeling

Cooch Behar

Ghaziabad

"The flagship programme of Railway Children India was to protect and reintegrating children in contact with Railway stations in India. Children arriving alone and or at risk are reached out by a dedicated outreach team 24 x 7 before an abuser can. Children are provided with food, shelter, safety and support and reunified with their families and referred to long care homes through the Juvenile Justice System. Our engagement with the Government Run Children homes and the open Shelters supported by Railway children India provided support and ensure their holistic wellbeing of the children during their stay at the Child Care Institution before they were reintegrated with families. One of the key element of the programme was the post reunification follow up and family strengthening supports to vulnerable children and their families. training and sensitization, campaigns conducted at at the Railway station and district to mobilize the support these railway station community and district child protection system to support the children. Railway Children’s initiatives in 1999 and its influence through experience and evidence was one of the influencing factors for Indian Railways to develop a separate Standard Operating Procedure for protection of children at the railway station in 2013. Railway Children India works in coordination with Indian Railways and other stakeholders for the effective implementation of the programme.

District

Darbhanga

Kolkata

Vellore

Murshidabad

Malda

Jalpaiguri

Darjeeling

Cooch Behar

Ghaziabad

"The flagship programme of Railway Children India was to protect and reintegrating children in contact with Railway stations in India. Children arriving alone and or at risk are reached out by a dedicated outreach team 24 x 7 before an abuser can. Children are provided with food, shelter, safety and support and reunified with their families and referred to long care homes through the Juvenile Justice System. Our engagement with the Government Run Children homes and the open Shelters supported by Railway children India provided support and ensure their holistic wellbeing of the children during their stay at the Child Care Institution before they were reintegrated with families. One of the key element of the programme was the post reunification follow up and family strengthening supports to vulnerable children and their families. training and sensitization, campaigns conducted at at the Railway station and district to mobilize the support these railway station community and district child protection system to support the children. Railway Children’s initiatives in 1999 and its influence through experience and evidence was one of the influencing factors for Indian Railways to develop a separate Standard Operating Procedure for protection of children at the railway station in 2013. Railway Children India works in coordination with Indian Railways and other stakeholders for the effective implementation of the programme.