PROJECTS | Case Studies | India

Kalki Welfare Society – Care and protection for street children

Kalki Welfare Society is a local NGO set up by a former slum dweller, which works with some of the most vulnerable and marginalised children living in Pondicherry, South India.  The centre offers individually tailored care packages that include health checks, basic education, psychosocial care and family reunification services.  This is a very new initiative but the Kalki team is already having a profound effect upon the lives of children who live and work on the streets.  One such child is Saraniya.

Saraniya is 10 years old.  Her mother died when she was young and she never knew her father.  She grew up living with her grandmother who insisted that she pay Rps100 a day to stay there – Saraniya earned money by working as a prostitute in Pondicherry’s Old Town, the main tourist strip of the French colonial city.  At home, Saraniya received very little care and protection; on the streets she was vulnerable to police harassment, violence from locals and exploitation from other children on a daily basis.  Like so many other street children, she was severely malnourished, suffered from poor health and was addicted to glue.

Kalki’s social workers first spotted Saraniya scavenging for food in the streets.  They tried to speak to her, but because she was so wary of strangers she ran away.  The following week, one of the social workers saw her again.  This time she was in a very bad state – she was feeling extremely unwell and had been sniffing glue.  The social worker took her to the drop-in centre where she was able to eat, have a wash and rest, although not long after, Saraniya’s grandmother turned up at the centre and took her back home.        

On another occasion, when the social workers met her on the streets, she was a lot more willing to talk.  After a number of visits to the drop-in centre, Saraniya decided to stay there.  She was able to sleep safely at Kalki’s night shelter for girls and think about her options while talking to one of Kalki’s trained counsellors.  She started drawing pictures to help express her feelings.