New Delhi, March 1, 2020: Pappu Shukla was 7 when he was playing in the street with his older sister. A man who took him to his car and kidnapped him. When he got out of the vehicle, he did not know where he was but was told that he would have to work as a servant.

Shukla recalls his ordeal. “Those people were horrible. They got drunk and beat me, so after a while, I decided to run away.” After running and wandering about a lot, he got on the first train he saw and got to the end of the line. The last stop was the Calcutta station, but he had nowhere to go.

Fortunately, an operator of the Salesian Childline project found him while I was wandering around the train station. “I didn’t know which state or city my parents came from and nobody had reported my disappearance, because we were very poor, so they couldn’t find my family.”

That was ten years ago. Don Bosco Ashalayam (house of hope) that rescued him project him as an example of Salesian educational work for children’s rights in India.

Shukla is among more than 80,000 street children who have benefited in three decades from Don Bosco Ashalayam.

More than 500 children currently reside in the 23 shelters in Ashalayam and benefit from educational and recreational opportunities. Through its presence on the streets and with courses and programs offered in slums and railway stations, Don Bosco Ashalayam provides assistance to thousands of street children every year.

Ashalayam also provides the Childline hotline, a free telephone line that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Street children can call anonymously to seek support and ask for assistance. Bosco Delhi, through the Don Bosco Ashalayam Center, operates Childline.

Salesian staff members strives to ensure the rights of the children in need and give them special care and protection. They work collaboratively with law enforcement, healthcare, juvenile justice, transportation and legal providers, along with the media, to create awareness on child rights and provide child protection services.

Shukla says after his rescue the Child Welfare Committee sent him to Ashalayam and, although to date he hasn’t been able to track down his parents. “I’m happy, because the Salesians have given me a new family. Thanks to the Salesians, I passed the school exams and now I’m studying graphic design at the University of New Delhi. I have come a long way, and I’ll never forget what Ashalayam has done for me.”

India has the world’s fourth largest economy but more than 22 percent of the country lives in poverty. About 31 percent of the world’s multidimensionally poor children live in India, according to a report by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. A multidimensionally poor child is one who lacks at least one-third of 10 indicators, grouped into three dimensions of poverty: health, education and standard of living.

Salesian programs across India are primarily focused on education. Salesian primary and secondary education in the country helps youth prepare for later technical, vocational or university study. Other programs help to support poor youth and their families by meeting the basic needs of shelter, proper nutrition and medical care.

Source: missionnewswire.org