Nearly one lakh children go missing every year in the country, most of them suspected to be trafficked to big cities for cheap labour, prostitution or forced labor. In 2015, Assam recorded the highest number of cases of human trafficking in the country. Almost 80 percent of the local children (from the tea tribes) are recruited in Arunachal Pradesh as domestic help, agricultural labourers, daily wage labourers, and as an unskilled labour force. The reason for trafficking could me many starting from poor infrastructure, low income, poor educational facility, very high rate of school dropout.

Realizing and recognizing human trafficking as an offence to human dignity, Caritas India has initiated a program to combat human trafficking in different regions of the country and overseas through its partners and NGOs who felt the need to address as the density is high, although it is not a new page for some of the NGOs to address in this issue, but for Caritas India, reaching out to the unreached nooks or corners as per need is vital. Caritas India has commenced a cluster program through five satellite wings in the hotspot areas of Northeast.

The Anti-Human Trafficking Northeast Team of Caritas India made an exposure visit to another Anti-Human Trafficking programme of Caritas India at West Bengal to enhance knowledge on the theme, learn best practice, strategies and practical approach to create awareness, and handle issues related to human trafficking.

Nineteen-member team from northeast team visited Bal Surakha Abhiyan (BSA) Kalimpong West Bengal from 9-12 May 2019. The organisation is promoting child rights and help children, women who have been exposed to crimes against children and women. Driven by their core vision to eliminate child labour, they work through a number of avenues that have allowed them to directly support over 700 children in the Kalimpong District since their founding in 2006 as well as spread awareness throughout the community.

BSA runs a well-maintained shelter home with the life skill enhancements approach as compared to other shelter homes. 58 girls in this homestay in a hygienic living surrounding and proper settings. The team learned a lot from the organization. Although their focus is children, the complexities of the strive are very similar where we can learn from one another.

The team had witnessed and learned beyond the set objectives. It exemplifies that every individual staff had a realistic understanding of the various behaviors while dealing with some anti-social elements in the society. Yet there were numerous learning examples from the host organizations and the networking partners; the various government machinery which was unlike the type of systems that exist in some of our reaches out. More accountability and transparency were sensed during the visit to Kalimpong.

The exposure was fruitful in terms of various site witnesses and testimonies of trafficking victims who have shared their past and how they have become an agent today. They have also become a unique identity to reach out to more and restore the lost and dismantled community due to the lure of empty promises. The Northeast team decided to form different units of Anti-Human Trafficking of Youth/ Women/ Children group. As a best practice, various awareness programmes were planned in different schools, institutions, hotels, bars, news channels, all avenues. The concept of child-friendly corners was much appreciated for replication at the Police Station in the intervention areas. Strengthening of the existing Village vigilant committee and form more groups for a common cause was also reflected along with national and international events.

Jonas Lakra, Caritas India Zonal Manager of Northeast shared that, we have understood the weakness, strength and the gaps. But there is clarity though learning is never-ending. Child-Friendly Corner is new for us, which is governments duty to establish, we need to advocate. We learned the rapport building initiatives between BSA and other govt mechanisms which will help us to establish our own network in the field.