NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
services
The first street presence, along with shelter programme, started with a 3 member team: Mr M. Anand, Mr T. Nagaraj and Mr Joseph Donald. This activity includes rescuing, empowering and enabling children of the street and the social-economically-politically excluded marginalized communities and ensuring effective implementation of Juvenile Justice Systems and safeguarding the rights of victims of domestic violence.
Furthermore it aims to establish rapport with and rescue/wean away the run-away/missing children, advocate their rights; build positive image of street among the public and the officials; provide facilities in night shelter for street children above 15 years; provide opportunities for skills trainings for street youth above 18 years under National Academy of Construction (NAC) and impart Life Skills and Sexual Health education with special emphasis on HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases.
It consists of a team with a heart to identify itself with the destitute and run away children. Their main concern is to help each child to build on his or her own range of strengths. The team, so far, has contacted and given support to more than 43,520 street based children (41,007 boys and 2513 girls). The team engages in advocacy and child rights programmes too. A union for rag-pickers was established to save the children from the exploitative hands of ‘rag shop owners’.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Round The Clock Shelter
Navajeevan runs a round the clock shelter for children between 5 – 15 years of age. The children are given emotional support that they are badly in need of, in addition to meeting their personal and medical needs, with an emphasis on non-formal education.
The children rescued from street or weaned away from street life are brought immediately to ‘Round the Clock Open Shelter’ and are provided with basic needs. They undergo in-depth counselling sessions while attending Orientation Camps organized in the shelter premises, before they are home-integrated or joined for any of the rehabilitation process under formal education or skills training streams.
It is done through a month long re-orientation camps, group counselling, and picnic camps. Depending on their age, the Pre-Prerana camp caters for children below 11 years, while the Pre-Velugu for children between 12-14 years and Pre-Vimukthi prepares children for de-addiction Camp. At the end of this children either go back home, and if that not possible, join other rehabilitation processes available within the organization.
Open Schooling
The main theme is to provide education by enrolling and retaining of long-time school drop-outs through Open School and prepare them for the 10th class exams.
Under the Open School Scheme started in 2008, so far Navajeevan has completed 5 batches comprising a total number of 250 students. The 6th batch of 74 students (42 boys and 32 girls) would appear for exams in April 2014.
Formal Education
Navajeevan also follows up and monitors more than 520 school/college going children mostly from the most marginalized communities staying in various government social welfare hostels and attending local schools/colleges.
Resource Mobilzation
The team members are capacitated to mobilize resources using various media to identify sponsors for students attending school, college and professional courses.
LS&SH-E
The aim of this activity is to promote psychosocial and interpersonal life
Counselling And Home Integration
The team conducts in-depth counselling and home inquiry and home integration for the rescued children. It is a family team or a ‘parental-peer’ team.… It helps the child come away from the tendency of street–addiction. The team prepares the child either to go home or to choose a rehabilitation programme available in Navajeevan. If a child wants to be integrated with his/her family, a team member accompanies the child. Since 1995, the team so far has home- integrated more than 25,345 children (22979 boys and 2366 girls) with their parents.
Prerana And Velugu(Re-orientation Camps)
Prerana is the orientation camp for street children below 10 years and Velugu is the orientation camp for the chldren above 10 years.… Each camp lasts for 30 days. The maximum capacity of the camp is 30 children. Those addicted to various psycho-active substances like erasers (‘solution’/’box’ in local jargon), marijuana, gutka, alcohol, etc., join the deaddiction camp called Vimukthi (‘Liberation’), at a sprawling 25 acres of mango orchard campus at Posanapalli village, near Nuzivid, 45 kms away from Vijayawada.
Infirmary – Healthcare
The infirmary provides and maintains quality health care for all children from the various Navajeevan Rescue,… Re-orientation and Rehabilitation centres.
It has 20 beds and is taken care of by two well qualified and experienced nurses who are able to handle most of the routine cases, while cases of a serious nature are referred to either the government or private hospitals.
Yuva Bhavan
Yuva Bhavan is a home for the senior students (boys) attending regular college studies in and around Vijayawada.
Deepa Nivas
A Home for Rehabilitation Centre under Children in Need of Care & Protection
Bosco De-addiction Centre
It means “being liberated”. Stretching out its loving hand, Navajeevan promises a bright future to those children… who have become addicted to drugs and other substances. Apart from this it is a re-orientation camp for senior street children above 15years. A starling survey by Navajeevan Street Educator’s team reveals that more than 40% of the children living on streets are addicted to one form or the other of drugs related substances. The camp lasts for 30 days.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Night Shelter
Navajeevan runs a Night Shelter for children between for the children above 15 years of age. They are given a secured stay away from the streets and awareness on health care and especially on drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and other serious diseases, in addition to directing their minds to social values. On an average, 31 children/street youth, make use of the Night Shelter for their night stay. The night shelter is where they come for rest after day’s rounds – most of them engaged in catering services, especially during marriage season. Night shelter is also a refuge for those senior children who eke a living on the street but are not ready, for various reasons, to avail themselves of the rehabilitation facilities offered by various organizations, including Navajeevan.
The night shelter is located in one of the Municipal Corporation’s schools, located adjacent to the office of Forum for Child Rights/Childline and the Child Welfare Committee. Apart from providing basic amenities, a recreation facility, a safe place for keeping their belongings, the night shelter also gives an opportunity to the Navajeevan counsellors to contact the children/youths coming for night rest and to motivate them to wean themselves away from street life and from addiction to substance abuse that many of them have fallen prey to. The children youth/street youth who are ready to wean themselves away from street life are brought to round the clock shelter for further
The night shelter is located in one of the Municipal Corporation’s schools, located adjacent to the office of Forum for Child Rights/Childline and the Child Welfare Committee. Apart from providing basic amenities, a recreation facility, a safe place for keeping their belongings, the night shelter also gives an opportunity to the Navajeevan counsellors to contact the children/youths coming for night rest and to motivate them to wean themselves away from street life and from addiction to substance abuse that many of them have fallen prey to. The children youth/street youth who are ready to wean themselves away from street life are brought to round the clock shelter for further
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Peer Counsellors (Post De-Addiction Programme)
With a view to make former street children and other youth partners in the rehabilitation of street and working children, this is used as a programme to motivate the children involved in.
As part of ‘child-to-child approach’, the concept of Peer Counsellors, was in practice in Navajeevan since many years. However, in November 2012, a group of youth officially joined Navajeevan as ‘Peer Counsellors’ as part of a post de-addiction programme, after the completion of their stay at Vimukthi, the de-addiction centre. The whole idea was to make them strong in their determination, while serving as an inspiration for others. The stated post de-addiction programme has brought down the cases of relapse considerably. Also, the Peer Counsellors assist the Street Presence team members in rescuing street based children, and moreover, in motivating others who are addicted to substance abuse to join the de-addiction camp.
As part of ‘child-to-child approach’, the concept of Peer Counsellors, was in practice in Navajeevan since many years. However, in November 2012, a group of youth officially joined Navajeevan as ‘Peer Counsellors’ as part of a post de-addiction programme, after the completion of their stay at Vimukthi, the de-addiction centre. The whole idea was to make them strong in their determination, while serving as an inspiration for others. The stated post de-addiction programme has brought down the cases of relapse considerably. Also, the Peer Counsellors assist the Street Presence team members in rescuing street based children, and moreover, in motivating others who are addicted to substance abuse to join the de-addiction camp.
Neethodu –(i Am With You)
It is a project working for the children affected/infected by HIV AIDS. The primary target groups,… other households, community and youth leaders, PRIs and officials of various government line departments of the 12 target villages are sensitized and all children infected/affected with HIV/AIDS (with special emphasis on girl children and mothers) are given/facilitated to obtain care and support services on an equitable basis.
Life Skills And Sexual Health Education (LS&SH-E)
The aim of this activity is to promote psychosocial and interpersonal life
GROUP CARE HOME
Navajeevan, realizing the importance of foster care, has started Group Care Homes to foster family environment. …These homes apart, Navajeevan has also started placing individual child – especially the orphans – under the care of foster parents in their families. At the moment there are 7 Group Care Homes (Moggas) – 5 for boys and 2 for girls. These Group Care Homes for boys are taken care of by care mothers/care parents.
Chiguru - Children’s Village
It is Navajeevan Chiguru Children’s village, housing Residential Bridge schools for children – for boys (Theeram) and for Girls (Baalika),… preparing them for regular schooling. Children in Chiguru are housed in small groups at different cottages – Group Care Homes, one of alternative forms of care – with a view to give more individual attention. Chiguru also accommodates SHORT STAY HOME for girl children above 15 years and young women – victims of sexual, physical and other forms of violence, especially in cases of domestic violence. They are given opportunities to have in-depth counselling, Livelihood Advancement Skills Trainings (LAST), Life Skill cum Sexual Health Education, etc.
Sponsorship And Volunteers Desk
Navajeevan Bala Bhavan has been collaborating and encouraging the volunteers in the process of providing care and …protection for the children in difficult situations from the time of its conception. For the past 25 years, numbers of volunteers from different nationalities have shared in the common vision of Navajeevan Bala Bhavan. Over the years over 400 volunteers have worked in Navajeevan and maintained a special relationship with children at Navajeevan8 Save the child by leading him/her to Navajeevan. Sponsor the child to realize his/her dream. Bala Bhavan. Many of them along with their own friends have now constituted the ‘Friends of Navajeevan’ groups in their own respective countries – Friends of Navajeevan, Germany; Friends of Navajeevan, Austria; Friends of Navajeevan, Holland and British Sponsors of Navajeevan Bala Bhavan (BSNBB), in UK.
Networking
Andhra Pradesh Child Rights Advocacy Foundation (AP CRAF) – a child rights resource centre – came into existence because of Navajeevan initiative.… This organization was given the primary objective of running training programmes for various Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Government Organizations (GOs) on the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and maintains related documentation. Navajeevan also played an important role in the formation of city ‘Forum for Child Rights’ – a collective NGO effort and a city based Child Line. Forum for Child Rights, Vijayawada is a common platform for all the NGOs working in Vijayawada for the rights of children. Forum came into existence with the coming together of the NGOs and the Municipal Corporation of Vijayawada – the Mayor being the head of the Forum. In addition to this, other Government Departments such as Police, Labour, Railways, Women and Child Welfare, etc are also the stakeholders of this Forum.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Child Safety Net (CSN)
The aim of this initiative is…
To facilitate the establishment and strengthening/monitoring of anganwadis, primary health care centres, sanitation facilities, safe drinking water and other service delivery mechanisms benefiting children and their marginalized families.
To enable the communities to monitor other Child Care Institutions, especially Municipal Corporation/ Panchayath/Private Schools, Primary Health Care Centres, Sanitation facilities, to ensure quality education, health and infrastructure.
The implementation of the project is going on in full swing. The CSN activities are now being undertaken in altogether 120 village/slum communities (10 villages of Penamaluru mandal and 40 slum communities of Vijayawada urban and 70 villages of 14 new mandals). The efforts are being made towards promoting and practising an ‘Integrated Child Rights Approach’, CSN team with community participation builds sustainable and self-reliant institutional measurers, working in tandem with Panchayathi Raj Institutions (PRIs) through; 1. Village level Children Parliaments (CPs)/Bala Sanghas (promoting children participation and child-to-child approach); 2. Adult Activists Groups (AGs) supporting/mentoring Children Parliaments; 3. Child Protection Committees (CPCs) – consists of representatives of CPs and AGs – to monitor especially the functioning of each child care institution in the village. Apart from these, the other project measurers, such as, village level evening tuition centres as part of retaining children at school and Hitaishi, Neethodu – care and protection of children affected by AIDS (CABA) are being coordinated under CSN. The latest CSN initiative is to develop Children as Media Producers’ (CAMP) – a programme initiated in collaboration with the UNICEF. The implementation of ‘Child Safety Net project’ has made its impact, with the District Collector taking it as a model to be replicated in all the villages of the district. At the end of 2010, the district Collector formally requested Navajeevan to play a lead role in replicating the model in Vijayawada urban, with special focus on the marginalized communities dwelling in city slums
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Marriage Bureau
In the year 2011, Navajeevan officially launched a Marriage Bureau with a view to get the orphan girls married and settled in life. So far 2 of the orphan girls, got married to outside boys who wholeheartedly came forward under the aegis of Navajeevan’s Marriage Bureau. Nikitha, employed as a beautician, got married on 16th February 2013 and and Durga, employed as a tailor, got married on 30th May 2013. So far, during the last one and a half year, three of our girls got married and settled in life. The local volunteers like Mrs Padma helped the project team a lot, in identifying apt partners for our girls who work outside after skills training. Some more outside boys have come forward wholeheartedly to give a life to our orphan and semi-orphan girls. In Navajeevan, we are sure that our girl children are not a burden but a blessing for all of us – kindling light in our lives!
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Homelink Network (child-miss) Hub & Node
Homelink is a web based service maintained by Don Bosco YaR Forum to facilitate their work for the young at risk, enabling them to maintain and share up to date information on child related issues, across the country. The system generates instant reports based on child profile, missing children, staff centre, sub-centre, and various analyses of reports at local and national level. It is a software tool for documentation.
Young at Risk (YaR) Forum has its presence in 19 States & UTs reaching out to children on the street, trafficked, abused, abandoned, orphans, child labourers, school drop-outs, young prisoners or children in conflict with law, young substance abusers, children in war torn areas, refugee children, children affected by dreaded diseases, and the youngsters in other situations of risk. On an average in a year YaR Forum through its partners reaches out to over 200,000 (Two lakhs) children/youth at risk across India.
YaR Partners provide subsidized but quality education to thousands of orphans and poor children through shelter homes, children’s homes and youth hostels, irrespective of their caste and creed. YaR Partners give vocational skills to school dropouts and unemployed youth. YaR centres care for women and children with HIV/AIDS, TB, and leprosy. YaR centres sponsor thousands of Self-Help Groups to establish a viable income generation activities. In short, YaR Forum promotes Children’s and Human Rights.
Young at Risk (YaR) Forum has its presence in 19 States & UTs reaching out to children on the street, trafficked, abused, abandoned, orphans, child labourers, school drop-outs, young prisoners or children in conflict with law, young substance abusers, children in war torn areas, refugee children, children affected by dreaded diseases, and the youngsters in other situations of risk. On an average in a year YaR Forum through its partners reaches out to over 200,000 (Two lakhs) children/youth at risk across India.
YaR Partners provide subsidized but quality education to thousands of orphans and poor children through shelter homes, children’s homes and youth hostels, irrespective of their caste and creed. YaR Partners give vocational skills to school dropouts and unemployed youth. YaR centres care for women and children with HIV/AIDS, TB, and leprosy. YaR centres sponsor thousands of Self-Help Groups to establish a viable income generation activities. In short, YaR Forum promotes Children’s and Human Rights.
VISION
Inspired by Don Bosco and challenged by the marginalization of peoples, especially of the young, we will strive by our attitudes, way of life and actions, to empower the young at risk and to create a just and humane society by joining hands with socially responsible citizens and groups
MISSION
We shall incarnate ourselves, as individuals and groups, in locations and communities where marginalization is more prevalent.
We shall accompany the Young at Risk in their struggle to grow to fullness in freedom and humaneness.
We shall provide positive environments that will prevent exploitation and will empower the Young at Risk to be agents of personal and social transformation.
We shall create newer spaces to grow, live and work together; especially giving priority to participatory, human and child rights perspectives.
With the Young at Risk in the forefront, we shall network with other socially responsible individuals and groups in building communities and movements.
We shall accompany the Young at Risk in their struggle to grow to fullness in freedom and humaneness.
We shall provide positive environments that will prevent exploitation and will empower the Young at Risk to be agents of personal and social transformation.
We shall create newer spaces to grow, live and work together; especially giving priority to participatory, human and child rights perspectives.
With the Young at Risk in the forefront, we shall network with other socially responsible individuals and groups in building communities and movements.
MISS (Management Information System and Services) is an online comprehensive Child Tracking System for effective data management, monitoring and reporting, done through the effort of a group of experts from pertinent fields and end-users. The domain expertise of YaR Forum comes from experience of over a century right from grassroots level to the international, study and reflection on the factors affecting vulnerable children in India and their growth and development. Child MISS is an Information Management System and a Network which contributes to speed, process, structure, knowledge and services for the care, protection and development of children. It is a web based software tool, to assist both government and non-governmental organizations to document all their services and follow up in a single window system to enhance their mission for children at risk more effectively and efficiently. The software solution takes care of the data accuracy through Biometric Integration.
Purpose of Child MISS
Its purpose is to strengthen the Juvenile Justice System by making the child visible and promoting action in the interest of the child. It is the endeavor of the Child MISS to make the outcome of all actions in relation to the child visible, ensuring that stakeholders play their role and execute their responsibility at all times and that knowledge about children within the JJ System is available at every level from the micro to macro level.
Child Care System & its Stakeholders
This programme in keen to bring a comprehensive solution to the Child Care involving various stakeholders:-
- Monitoring bodies: Government ministries, Government bodies, etc.
- Child Care institutions: Children's home, Observations homes, etc.
- Legal Institutions: Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU).
- Non-Governmental Organizations, Child Care Stakeholders, etc.
- Civil Society Participation: Caring Community, Peer Leaders, Social Activities, Volunteers.
YaR Forum has reached the next launching pad of the program, setting in place a new genre of social work. Child MISS will make a very significant contribution or impact in the areas of Child Tracking System (CTS), especially those in need of Care and Protection, preventing trafficking of children and in the restoration of those missing, setting in place an adequate monitoring system for delivery of services, and most significantly, setting in place a COMMUNCATION BASED TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM, which is networked throughout the nation.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Alternative Care
To identify, motivate and train potential foster parents for orphaned and vulnerable children, with a special emphasis on children orphaned by HIV/AIDS…
Alternative Care is designed to provide parental love, care, protection, affection, supervision and support to children who do not have parents, caretakers and home. Foster care helps the child for healthy, psycho-social and mental adjustment.
More than 100 families were initially selected for screening out of 870 families visited since 2009 for placing orphan/semi-orphan/neglected children under foster care on individual basis. Out of these 100, 57 potential families had been selected. Rejecting one family, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) gave Fit Parent Certificate to 56 families.
So far, 28 orphan children (20 boys and 8 girls) were placed under foster care. Out of these, for various reasons, 10 children (9 boys and 1 girl) came/were taken back. Presently, the process of placing 7 more children (5 boys and 2 girls) is almost complete and under process of follow up with foster care parents.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Bala Vikasa Kendram (BVK)
In 1997, the Government of Andhra Pradesh recognized Navajeevan Bala Bhavan as a Fit Institution. Recognizing the success of its work for the cause of street children, Navajeevan was invited in 1997 by the Municipal Corporation to start a ‘centre for the working children’ at Autonagar Industrial Estate, Vijayawada within the city limits. Navajeevan has been intensifying and expanding its work to reach out to greater number of children in need of care and protection.
In collaboration with the city Municipal Corporation, Navajeevan extended its rescuing and protecting mission to the child workers, working in the city Automobile Industrial Estate (Autonagar) and other shop/industrial establishments in and around Vijayawada city.
The aim of BVK is to rescue child workers below 14 years and create legal/deterrent awareness among employers against employing child workers below 14 years and ensure rights, safe and healthy environment for child workers above 14 years and create demand for education among the people of the project area, especially the parents. BVK also is the centre for the Youth Parliament for the child workers above 15 years. So far, a total of 8751 children, below 14 years, were rescued since 2002.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Day Bridge Centre (DBC)
DBC is designed for the children mainly from the slum/village communities who are below poverty line. Besides bridge education, training in hygienic living is also one of the basic activities of DBCs. At present Navajeevan is running 3 bridge centres. Besides these, Navajeevan runs summer DBCs in the months of May and June.
The purpose is to motivate and enable the identified and rescued out-of-school children/child-workers for regular schooling through bridge course.
NAVAJEEVAN BALA BHAVAN
Livelihood Advancement Skills Training (LAST)
Livelihood Advancement Skills Training is for girls above 15 years and hailing from the various village/slum communities. Skills training programmes in computers (DTP/DCA), beauty culture and napkin making. Along with these skills, Navajeevan also helps the trainees, many of whom are either illiterate or long-time school dropouts, to acquire basic literacy skills and instructions about responsible parenthood. Moreover, some of the trainees are also motivated to complete their 10th class under the Open School Scheme.
The purpose is to empower adolescent school drop-out girls and young mothers, of the marginalized families belonging to the 10 target villages of Penamaluru mandal and 30 CSN slums in urban Vijayawada and prevent them from falling prey to trafficking. So far 480 girls and 56 boys have been trained in the above courses. Of them, some have successfully got placements in outside firms and have started earning a monthly salary of Rs.4000/- to Rs.6000/- per month.
