Create a Safe Space for Children and Youth

Childline:

Childline is an emergency helpline for children who works for the protection of rights of all children aged from 0 to 18 years. It is India’s first toll free, 24 hours phone outreach support system for children. It is supported by Ministry of Women and Child Development. Shaishav has been running Childline in Bhavnagar district since past 10 years.

In these past four months Childline has registered 134 cases about linking children with schemes, missing children, child labour, child marriage, protection from abuse, emotional support and guidance, child beggar, needing shelter, father’s death from corona, mother’s death from corona etc.

Childline team additionally does regular outreach programs to create an awareness about their work and to reach to more children who is probably in want of care or protection.

Childline team did outreach programs and met teachers, Anganwadi workers, Sarpanch, police officers, teachers and principals, etc.

Open houses are formulated for youngsters and adults within side the community to inform them approximately Childline and concentrate to their problems and demanding situations concerning child safety. Childline team has prepared 4 open homes in diverse communities with 88 people.

Shaishav has set up a Child Protection Committees in every area where Balsena (Children’s collective) is working for the improvement in their areas. Children representatives & their parents with region leaders are a part of the committees. Every month Child Protection Committees meets and meetings is carried out through the Childline team. In those meetings they groupthink approximately the hassle which kids are struggling of their zones and discover the applicable solutions. Child Protection Committees talk troubles on series of waste, open drainage system, no sanitation centres of their zones, schemes for in a disabled kids and orphans who is living with their families, etc. The team brainstorm to clear up the hassle and Childline team is assisting and helping to write an application and linking with schemes. In addition to this, Childline has additionally organized small trainings about child rights, rights to survival, emotional protection and how to take care and help those children who undergo from stress.

PSS (Psycho Social Support):

Childline and UNICEF has made this module to help people overcome from their mental health in the course of corona. The module consists of 10 components with activities to be completed with children, parents and adults. Module talk about mental and emotional health of children, made them aware to those kids who are unknown of the real world, while children and adults afflicted by emotional, social and economic problems, Causes and Precautions of Covid-19, online rumours’ of covid-19, How to control domestic abuse and assault during corona, who are the real warriors, age appropriate stories, postures and activities were being done with the children, parents and youngsters to make them know about right things and assist them to live their life in a terrific manner in the course of corona. Some of the activities were (Mandala Art with some pictures of species, Wish Jar etc. has helped the beneficiary to make themselves calm and act positively in the bad situation). The training on PSS (Psycho Social Support) had been completed with collaboration with DCPU (District Child Protection Unit), CCI (Child Care Institute), CPC (Child Protection Committee) and 181 staff. Shaishav’s team went on the ground to do the trainings with children and parents on a way to behave effectively at home during corona.

International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking:

On 26^th June 2021, whole and Shaishav and Childline team had done a meeting with officers of drug abuse wherein they communicate approximately the consequences of drug abuse, discussed about a way to eradicate this problem, awareness on drug use and how they can solve this problem. Together they took pledge to restrict the use of drugs and Illicit Trafficking.

Anganwadi/Police Station/Railway Station Outreach:

The team of Childline went to Anganwadi Centres to give them knowledge concerning Childline work and number that will attain out every time they may see children suffering with some issue and can reach out to Childline whenever they will see some concerning problem. Childline team has additionally visited the officials of Police station to assist them out if any child is missing or a case of lost and found etc., they are able to reach out to Childline in need of help. At Railway Station Childline team with RPF (Railway Protection Force) had exhibited all the child rights posters at railway platform to common people to see and understand this major concern.

Case Study:

Rashmi (name changed) is a 15 years old girl. Her own family has fixed her marriage. Rashmi has 3 siblings (all three elder sisters are above 18 years and Rashmi is the youngest, 15 years). The eldest sister amongst them ran away with a boy. So, due to the concern of society, her relatives decided to marry Rashmi with the boy who was supposed to marry the elder sister to repair their reputation. On the day of marriage someone from the own circle of relatives referred to as 181 to document the case of child marriage. Mahila Helpline took the call and went to the village with Block police. Mahila Helpline additionally involved Childline into this case. Together they began out the investigation, they talked with the father and mother of each boy & girl and made them sign a paper pronouncing that the woman will most effective get married while she turns 18 years old. Childline team organized the documents (counselling report, invitation card and submission) and handed over to the social security officer to attend to the case further. Rashmi’s right not to get married before 18 years has been secured with the help of Mahila Helpline and Childline.

Child Rights Training and Resource Centre: 

Adolescent Empowerment and Protection Training:

We had organized first phase of adolescent empowerment and protection TOT in February, 2020 before COVID affected India. Due to COVID we could not organize second phase earlier. On July 13^th -18^th we organized second phase of this TOT. 33 participants from 10 organization took part in this training. We covered topics like patriarchy, gender-based violence, healthy masculinity, Gali Bandh Abhiyan, healthy friendship, peer pressure, online safety, healthy sexuality, consent, how to handle no and rejection, how to make safe decisions, what could I do as a bystander, bullying, positive body image, etc.

Activity Kit Part 2

With overwhelming positive response, we got for the activity kit that we had designed during the first wave, we designed and published activity kit-2 during second wave. The activity kit played a great role in enhancing creativity in children, and they took initiative in their own learning. During the time when schools are closed and online education is not possible for all children, activity kit played an important role for furthering children’s learning. This time the kit is in the form of a book which has more than 100 activities on diverse themes such as creativity, self-awareness, understanding science principles through making toys, making working models of human body systems, let’s play Gandhi-Gandhi, connecting to nature, bird watching and identifying common birds, geography, different types of paper plane, how to make them and science behind them, Plastics- it’s history, chemical, impact on the planet, and how to stop using the single use plastic, etc.

We distributed the activity book to children in our communities. Organizations like Aataapi Foundation, Atul Foundation, CEE also ordered activity kit from us so that their children could benefit from these activities as well.

Aataapi Foundation:

On 5^th and 6^th July, Alpeshbhai, our team member gave training to Aataapi foundation team on activity kit and how to guide children for the activities from the book. 9 team members from Aatapi foundation participated in this offline training at Gajera.

Aanand law college:

On the international child labour day, Falgunbhai gave a talk to students and faculty members of Aanand Law College. The topic of this conversation was child labour and laws related to child labour. Around 46 students and faculty members joined this talk.

SSKK- IRMA:

Falgunbhai gave a lecture to team of Samaj and Shikshan Kalyan Kendra in Amareli and IRMA students who had come for their placement in about situation of children in our society and different laws related children. Around 35 people participated in this webinar.

CRC-G (Child Rights Collective- Gujarat):

Shaishav is part of Child Rights Collective- Gujarat, which is a volunteer collective of organization working with children on child rights. Through CRC-G two webinars were organized where Shaishav team members participated. Krinnaben was the resource person of these webinars. She spoke about how to communicate with children who are facing difficulties in life or are in unsafe/potentially unsafe situation. She gave tips about how to do counselling with them such as trusting the child as s/he/they describe what happened, use of simple language, no labelling of the children, etc.

On the second webinar she spoke about different schemes of government as well as legal practices for children e.g., when you find a child who is being forced in to child marriage or child labour, etc. She also spoke about how to increase self confidence of these children as most of them may have lost their confidence upon finding themselves in difficult situation they can’t control.

Oasis:

Oasis organized a 4 years training for self-development of second-generation leaders. The second phase of the training was organized on 22^nd to 25^th July. 3 team members from Shaishav participated in this training. They will be joining this training for next four years to develop themselves as a leader for the organization.

Oasis also organizes ‘Life camp’ for children to enhance their self-confidence, experience being in charge of their own learning. They organized a TOT of Life camp for two days. Two team members from Shaishav participated in this workshop. They learnt different principles and modules for this life camp.

Life skills by Utasarga:

Utsarga was an American Indian Fellow and he was volunteering with us foe last 8 months. He designed new modules to enhance life skills in children such as critical thinking, self-awareness, creativity, communication, etc. He gave this training to Shaishav team members.