Violence against children is rampant in our country, and the state of West Bengal is no exception, but the scenario has changed. Child-Friendly Police Stations are established; Children’s Clubs and Vigilance Committees are functional; child marriages are reduced; children rescue or free children from child labour; police personnel and Civic Police Volunteers are sensitised; and child leaders started submitting a Charter of Demands to the West Bengal Commission for the protection of children’s rights.

Caritas India has succeeded in establishing effective child protection systems by promoting children’s rights in education, inclusive development, and social participation in the state of West Bengal. The results were so impressive that the Surokhit Shaishav—Promoting Safe Childhood programme was extended to Uttar Pradesh and Assam. In the new phase, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam will collectively work towards improving access to education and protection against exploitative child labour and child trafficking.

The new phase of this programme was launched in January 2023 in Kolkata. Caritas India was concerned over the number of children being trafficked every day, which sparked the idea to have a common programme for the holistic development of children by promoting child rights.

The orientation and planning meeting for the programme was organised for the Child Rights BMZ partners of Uttar Pradesh, Purvanchal Gramin Seva Samiti (PGSS) and Development Association for Human Advancement (DEHAT), at Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, on April 11, 2023.

“There is a need to bring about transformative changes in the lives of families and children in UP,” said Fr. Jaison, Director of PGSSS. He said, earlier, the Swaraksha programme had given us the impetus to work closely with government departments, NGOs, and other network forums. Now the new programme, Surokhit Shaishav will also help us to work on the issues of child labour, child marriage, trafficking, and child education.

Ms Asha Ekka, Assistant Programme Lead, Surokhit Shaishav, provided participants with an overview of child rights.The team gained knowledge on some basic rights protected in the United Nations (UN) Charter for Child Rights and the Indian Constitution, as well as UN Sustainable Development Goals related to children.

The difference between children’s needs and wants was explained through group work. The session was linked with the programme results at the micro, meso, and macro levels to ascertain additional optimistic results to promote children’s rights and entitlements and access to quality education, ensuring survival, protection, development, and participation against child labour, child trafficking, and child marriage. Furthermore, Ms. Asha elucidated on child labour and the current scenario where children are engaged at various sites. The team also gets acquainted with the Acts and Amendments under Child Labour in India.

Ms Chihanphi Luiram, the Programme Associate from Assam facilitated the session on Child Trafficking and cited case studies followed by group work to enact role plays on the given situation. The role play enabled the partner team members to understand and analyse the issues and give realistic suggestions to resolve the identified situations. This aided in an easy understanding of the evils of child trafficking. She shared the push and pull factors of trafficking, where children and vulnerable adults have been thrown into a world of darkness, denying their basic rights.

The Child Rights Lead of Surokshit Shaishav, Dr Jayanta Munsi, facilitated the basics of the New Education Policy (NEP-2020). He gave a brief background on the existing education systems and enlightened the team on the proposed NEP 2020. Starting from preschool education to higher education and the various alterations proposed in the NEP 2020 for the holistic development of children were shared for better understanding.

Dr.Munsi simplified the Mission Vatsalya and the various schemes under different departments aimed at strengthening the objectives of the Mission Vatsalya as well as the importance of the formation and functionalities of Child Protection Committees at various levels.

Partner Directors, Programme Accountants, and Programme Teams were oriented on the project nature and financial legalities and requirements by Mr.Mukul Gomes, Programme Finance Associate. He emphasised the importance of cash flow in line with a detailed implementation plan (DIP).

The three-day orientation and planning meeting concluded with a clearer roadmap and knowledge enhancement to take the programme forward with confidence and pride.