Railway Children Report to Soroptomists Cardiff

Jeevodaya Girls (Chirag)

Back ground

Itarsi is a city in , . It is a commercial hub for agricultural goods and is also famous for its railway junction. got its name from iett (brick) and rassi (rope) which used to be traded around the town. The main industry is now plywood manufacture, ordnance factory and soya mills. Itarsi has the large , where the dam provides for irrigation to several thousand hectares of farming land in and districts.

In the 2011 census, Itarsi had a population of 94,201. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Itarsi has an average literacy rate of 75%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81% and female literacy is 69%. In Itarsi, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age.

Transport

Itarsi is one of the major Railway junctions in India. It comes under west whose headquarters is in . At the crossing of important east-west and north- south routes 250 trains are daily passing through. Due to this a large number, 25-35 girls alone, between the ages 5- 16 and 10 -12 platform families are found here. They are engaged in rag picking and selling things at the platform. There is currently no children’s home in for girls run by the government or any other NGO’s apart from Jeevodaya. In the road network, National Highway (NH-69) connects Itarsi to major cities and .

Project

Run by Sister Clara, the Jeevodaya projects for boys and girls have been supported by Railway Children since 2004. During the last six months 53 new girls were contacted on the station, 36 through outreach staff and 17 who were referred by police and other stakeholders. The girls had arrived from surrounding towns in the state (41), Uttar Pradesh (4) and (5). The girls had given various reasons for their arrival alone in Itarsi, from No-one to take care of them (32%) to acute poverty (30%)

Of these, 13 girls were referred to the Child Welfare committee for decisions about their reintegration or referral to government homes. 2 girls were referred to the Chirag long-term care home, bringing the total staying at the home up to 31.

 31 girls are staying in the residential centre  28 of the girls’ are going to regular school  1 girl has been referred to Boarding school in Bhopal, nearer to her home.  1 girl received state level and National level certificate in soft ball competition  5 girls are active members of the Child Rights Forum  1 girl achieved 3rd prize in state level drawing completion  6 girls are training in home management and cooking  9 girls were reunified with their families  17 girls celebrated their birthday, some for the first time

Education

During the period 9 new girls have started to attend school, regularly. They learnt Hindi reading & writing, maths and basic numeracy and their 2-5 times tables. Jeevodaya staff visit the school daily and spend time with the teachers and students. Parents are also encouraged to also start to visit the school and collect progress reports of their children. Each of the girls takes their monthly tests, ensuring they move up through the grades and improve their educational skills.

The girls practice yoga in the centre every morning and participate in sports for an hour each day. Art/craft and drama/dance sessions also ensure the girls have a holistic development. Delivery of Railway Children’s Ehsaas training programme to staff and children, seeks to raise awareness of health, hygiene, relationships and sexual health. Through this programme girls were able to consider previous relationships and what was appropriate behaviour. Some were able to voice concerns about situations at home and during their time on the platform and recognise their rights.

Platform Families

During the period 13 platform families were engaged and assisted to obtain their Below Poverty Line cards, ensuring they have access to cheaper basic necessities and food. They have also been facilitated to obtain birth certificates and subsequently voter ID’s. Two women have opened savings accounts and six women have secured jobs, taking them rag- picking and petty business into more secure employment and increasing their income. Three women have received vaccinations and one was enabled to deliver her new baby in hospital. 86 girls from the platform families and surrounding slums have accessed the non-formal education classes at the drop-in centre.

Case Study

Prika age 9

I remember my childhood. We lived with my grandmother at Nala Mohalla, Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh. My father was not with us. He used to come to meet us. He married for a second time after my mother died from jaundice. After her death my father did not meet us anymore. Gradually we lost everything. My elder brother had come to the platform to earn money. He used to sell tobacco and water bottles in the train. My grandmother (Nani) also started to do similar work. Often I used to come to the platform with her and sometimes I would stay at night there. Now it was the routine for us. My younger brother was also moving around here and there.

One day I met an outreach worker. He talked with me and took me to Jeevodaya. I wanted to study so I came with him and met Sr. Clara. She referred me to a boarding school in Bhopal. I went there but there were some rules like waking up at 5:00 am. I found difficulties following the rules because earlier there were no rules and regulation in my life.

My grandmother (Nani) came to meet me regularly but my uncle (Mama) came only once. I was class monitor every year at school and also group leader at the hostel. I passed class 7 from there. When staff changed my confidence was knocked, the new staff spoke very differently to me. After passing some days I talked with Sr. Clara to see if I could go to Jeevodaya. She agreed and one of my friends and me were moved to Jeevodaya. I am happy now.

I am fond of drawing, dancing, tailoring and sports. I got more opportunity to develop these skills here. Twice I went for state level tournament in softball. Now I am studying in class 9. I want to study further to become an Engineer. My dream is to make a house for my grandmother (Nani).

Photos

Celebrating a birthday at Chirag

Dashera Festival – A Hindu festival celebrated in September or October each year