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Night shelter project for street children

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The Hindu 10.09.2009

Night shelter project for street children

 

Staff Reporter

Mayor inaugurates the first shelter in the city at Kodungaiyur

— Photo: V.Ganesan

WITH CARE: Mayor M.Subramanian (right) interacts with street children at the launch of the project to provide night shelter for them in Chennai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: Surya dropped out of school after he failed in Standard IX. One of the street children and displaying anger in his body language, he says, “I do not want to study at all.”

Many children such as Surya are rag-pickers in the dump yards of Chennai including Kodungaiyur and Perungudi.

In order to help children like him cope with the challenges of modern life in the city, the Chennai Corporation on Tuesday launched a project to provide night shelter for street children. Inaugurating the first such shelter in Kodungaiyur, Mr. Subramanian said, “Providing night shelter for street children is part of our initiative of making arrangements to prevent their abuse, neglect and exploitation.”

This is the first such initiative by a civic body in the country, Mr. Subramanian said. The civic body has also identified 824 child labourers and admitted them in various Corporation schools, he said. Their parents have been imparted training for proper employment and loans have been given to improve their economic conditions, he said.

Mr. Subramanian urged residents to report any abuse of street children to the Corporation officials in order to admit them in the night shelter.

Street children are deprived of family care and adult supervision at the night shelter would reduce the degree of abuse, said A. Alexander, supervisor of the project. Most children on the streets are in the 5-17 age group and engaged in some kind of economic activity including rag-picking.

R. Isabel, executive secretary of Madras Christian Council of Social Service, said the street children earn Rs.200 a day, selling materials collected by rummaging the dump yard.

They make money but their health is at stake and their developmental as a human being is affected making them misfits in the society, she says.

Childline, 1098, gets around 2,000 calls reporting various types of abuse and exploitation of children in Chennai every month.

Last Updated on Thursday, 10 September 2009 00:31