Annual Report 07-08:  Our Work

< Welcome            Youth Initiative >

Saathi is committed to working with issues facing homeless youth living on the streets, and runaway, abandoned or trafficked adolescents and children, contributing towards a just and equitable world. The organization was formally registered in 1997 in Mumbai (Bombay), India.

When Saathi began, the issue of homeless street youth was very new with no known organizations working with this particular group in Mumbai and therefore no experiences or previous learnings to refer to. It required exploring and developing new approaches. This intervention is today called the Youth Initiative and it focuses on issues of stigmatization of homeless youth, their exclusion from society aside from minimum economic interactions, and the violation of human as well as constitutionally guaranteed rights, such as access to medical care, shelter, etc.

A situational analysis was done to understand the fates of girls arriving in Mumbai since they were not seen on the streets like the male youth were, nor was there information available since again, no other organizations were working with this particular population. By 1999, the Girls Project began, working to meet girls and young women who were migrating, abandoned or had left their homes as they arrived at Mumbai Central station and protect them from exploitation by trafficking networks. The goal of the project is to empower the adolescent girls and young women towards their own rehabilitation through a nurturing and learning environment. Special issues addressed by the project include mental illness and lack of care available, legal system gaps in addressing acts of violence against girls and women, and the difficulties of reintegrating into their families due to stigmas attached to having left home.

Over the years an understanding has been built, recognizing that a link exists between the child entering the city and the youth who has been on the streets for years or the girl ensnared in exploitative networks. In response, Saathi expanded its work to meet these children as they arrive in the city in hopes of preventing them from entering life on the street and becoming accustomed to it. Thus began the Home Placement as an early intervention programme in 2004, identifying and reaching out to children at Mumbai Central Train Terminus.  This project also actively addresses trafficking by working to identify and intervene in suspected trafficking of women and children as they arrive in the city via rail networks. The many programs and activities of the project hold at their core the protection of child rights, including their active participation in decision making.

In 2005 Saathi’s response to the death of a child in the nearby community due to violence from his employer provided the impetus for a massive undertaking by the police, fellow NGOs, and labour department to conduct raids in areas known for child labour.  Over 1,000 children were rescued in that series of raids and hundreds more rescued in following months. It led to the creation by the Government of Maharashtra of a State Task Force for the elimination of Child Labour from Maharashtra. Saathi is part of this task force contributing effectively towards policy interventions on child labour. Saathi is also the convening organization for the Children’s Commission Action Forum (CCAF), a collective group of development organizations demanding for an effective implementation of the Maharashtra Children’s Commission, a government commission working towards the promotion of child rights.

Saathi has been advocating for providing quality institutional care and exploring alternatives to institutionalisation of children through the Quality Institutional Care and Alternatives for Children (QIC&AC) network. We have been active in networking and advocacy on issues of health and access to medical care through the network of Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), on sexual abuse through Forum Against Child Sexual Exploitation (FACSE) and for protection of child rights through Coordination Committee for Vulnerable Children (CCVC).

The processes of exploration that started with youth continues till date. Exploring economic alternatives to expand the choices available to these groups has been a continuous process starting from the Income Generation Programme called Kria manufacturing paper bags, developing outbound vocational training, teaching glass mosaic to girls and young women, to networking with corporate houses for traineeships and job placement. An alternative shelter for homeless youth in the form of Group Homes is another pioneering program. Exploring association between mental health and out of home youth and children has been an important issue since 2006.

These explorations and new approaches have, in a way, been hallmarks of Saathi’s 10+ years of existence. We hope to carry on with these efforts in coming years, too, contributing towards the creation of a just and equitable world.

Geographical spread of Saathi

The organization’s direct interventions are conducted in Mumbai. However, Saathi has a national footprint through its partner NGOs, Childline and other collaborators and through direct reunification of children with families across all of India.

Where to Find Us

On the web at http://www.saathi.org

On email at: info@saathi.org

Or at our four locations:

Please call to visit any of our centers.

Information about products from Kria, our Income Generation Programs ( glass mosaic décor products and recycled-paper bags with logos printed ) can be found on our website or  by contacting us directly at our Administrative Office. The products are available on an individual basis or as bulk orders and can be customized according to specific requirements.

< Welcome            Youth Initiative >