Country Context

There are an estimated 100,000 to 125,000 street and working children in Kolkata, surviving by informal work such as vegetable hawking, train cleaning, ragpicking, pick pocketing, and pimping. These children are at high risk of abuse & exploitation, especially girls being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. Kolkata’s most deprived slum communities are characterised by lack of opportunities to access education, high school drop out rates, high levels of discrimination against girls, and child labour often hazardous. Girls and boys living in the slum communities are being denied their right to education and it is estimated that approx 50,000 children are not attending any educational facility. Girls are more likely to be excluded from school as many are forced to financially support themselves and/or their families, local attitudes can act as a barrier to attendance, and discrimination and abuse in schools forces many to drop-out. Local authorities such as the Police and government run shelter homes are often unable to effectively protect these boys and girls and at times are openly hostile and harmful to their situation.

The Project

CINI Asha (CA) in partnership with ChildHope is in the 4th year of a 5 year project supporting marginalized children in Kolkata to access their rights to education and protection from abuse. The project is working with children who are not in school, children of sex workers and children living on the streets. These children are at high risk, illiterate or exposed to sex and do not attend school. Activities include:

• Collaborating with Police Stations and schools on how to develop a child friendly environment and be sensitive to the needs of street and working children.
• 15 Police Stations now have Child Welfare Officers and are regularly referring children in their care to CA for temporary shelter and other services it offers
• The project works to trace and reunite many children with their families
• Children out of school are given educational reinforcement classes and when ready are supported back into the formal schooling system
• Government and civil society are being encouraged to collaborate and offered training on Child Protection.
• Strengthening the capacity of CA, the community, schools and other organisations to meet the needs of marginalized street and working children, and be more aware of children’s rights, education and gender issues
• Improving children, families and marginalized people’s participation in different areas of their life

Challenges and lessons learnt:

• 
  Teachers who received training have become sensitive to various issues regarding children and have internalised the need for a childfriendly school environment; they are also working to motivate parents and the community to take part in this endeavour.
• Teachers have also been eager to make the training a continuous process. The teachers felt this was the first time they had a forum in which to discuss issues affecting them.
• Other organisations working with children have been keen to receive CA’s training on Child Protection, however although the will is there it is much harder for some organisations to institutionalise their own Child Protection policy. So there is a need for constant support and follow-up in order to motivate organisations to continue their endeavour.
• Although the mothers of many of the street and working children are now actively taking part in awareness-raising activities, it has been much harder to secure the participation of fathers.