Today the entire earth is going through the predicaments arise from the outbreak of Covid-19 which has spread its foot in the society very easily, on the other hand, the loss of Jobs  & work for the people of  India has created a  chaos in front all of us in which life seems to be very difficult to run. At this point in time when there is no work for people to earn several wrong means of earning can be seen around. It’s very easy to trap those who are without work as a result of the pandemic, the youth & the vulnerable people are the most targeted section in the society who are easily trapped & lured for work. But behind this, there is a  dirty picture of their exploitation & other malicious practices. Though this year was challenging for everyone in terms of different losses like physical & financial but still there is a ray of hope for us which can be ignited through the joint efforts.

Youth are the most important and dynamic segment of the population in any India  It is estimated that the average age of the population in India by 2020 will be 29 years as against 40 years in the USA, 46 years in Europe and 47 years in Japan.

Moving in this way Caritas India Partners DSWS joined hands with Action Aid to address the youths in the community on the issue of Human Trafficking.  with a desire to know about Human trafficking around twenty-five youths from Kakori block came together &  learned the aspects of Human Trafficking & unsafe migration and, they came to know as a youth what they can do to combat Human Trafficking.

Youths attended the half-day event & learned about What is Human Trafficking & why & how this is done. Knowing about Human trafficking was not only the purpose for conducting this event, but the Role of the youths was also the important aspect of the meeting & how youths can contribute to combating human trafficking was shared to the youths. Caritas India Partner staff also created an awareness & sensitized them that being a youth they are one of the strongest pillar of this society & they can play a vital role in combating Human Trafficking. They need to be very alert once they complete their education & plan to go for work. Not only work they need to be very attentive to choose their employer when they plan to migrate from their places to different cities or different countries. Apart from knowing the dynamics  & current trends of Human Trafficking they were made aware on the preventive measures against Human trafficking & they were motivated to share this information & act as a watchdog in the community to combat Human Trafficking.

They were informed that how perpetrators target the young people who lack the job opportunities, who have been the victim of social discrimination or marginalized communities or people caught in the debt bondages or the because the parents think that their children are burden & sell them off.  They were sensitized & mobilized to be part of the Swaraksha AHT Program to create awareness  & sensitize communities voluntarily to save the lives of poor & oppressed peoples from being trafficked.

It was suggested that the youth can bring the change in this society & for this transformation they need to be equipped & empowered with knowledge & information which will help them to combat Human Trafficking. The team also made them aware on the different helpline numbers like 1098 for children, 112 Police, 1090 & 181  women helpline & 1923 border force where the emergency call can be done during any emergency or in need of help in any case of Human Trafficking. A plan for the youth Taskforce was also shared in the meeting which was agreed by everyone which will be on a voluntary basis. Besides these, they were made aware of Govt. Schemes for Youths, women & marginalized people so that they can be linked to different Govt. entitlements which will mainstream their lives. Though the objective of this meeting was to bring youths together to create awareness among them & sensitize them against Human Trafficking, this youths volunteered themselves to work as a task force to help the needy people & combat Human trafficking by their small contribution of sensitizing communities against Human Trafficking & providing support through helpline numbers & Govt. Schemes.