People’s Help Sought For Child Rescue
Members of Caring Community Group talk to a child at the Coimbatore Railway Station. Don Bosco Anbu Illam along with Childline has sought the help of the general public in spotting run-away children. By forming informal groups among the public, the children who are found roaming about the streets unaccompanied by adults are immediately reported to Childline. “When it was formed, the groups had only autorikshaw drivers as members,” says C.M. Suresh Babu, a former volunteer of Childline. “But now, we have mobilised porters and vendors on railway station platforms and street vendors to become a part of the movement,” he says. Every day, Childline gets at least two calls from members of these groups, he adds. At present, there are 22 such Caring Community Groups operating in and around the district including Mettupalayam, Annur, Avinashi, Tirupur, Pollachi, Udumalpet, and even Palakkad.
The moment any one of the group members spots a child, he or she informs the volunteers of Childline. Sometimes, when the volunteers are not accessible over telephone, they take the child to the office of Childline, T.Sheela, coordinator of Childline says. These people are also given identity cards. “That gives them a sense of responsibility and identity,” she says. The Don Bosco Anbu Illam and Childline organises regular meetings of these Caring Community Groups to sensitise them to child rights and the various issues of run-away children.
They are also given orientation on the psychosocial aspects of dealing with such children. The organisation is also planning to form similar groups among the women flower vendors near bus stands and crowded streets so that they can easily identify and talk to run-away girls. “Called Task Force Groups earlier, they have now become a model for the entire nation. We have had organisations from Vijayawada, Chennai and Bangalore expressing interest to follow this example in their cities,” says Ms. Sheela.
