Salaam Baalak Trust
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| Abbreviation | SBT |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1988 |
| Type | Non Governmental Organisation |
| Purpose | Support forstreet childrenand working children |
| Location | |
Chairperson | Praveen Nair |
Budget | Rs. 15 crore (2024-2025)[1] |
Staff | Over 250 |
Volunteers | 120 per year (including Indians and foreigners) |
| Website | Salaam Baalak Trust, Delhi |
Salaam Baalak Trust(SBT) is an Indiannon-profitandnon-governmental organizationwhich provides support for street and working children in theDelhi-NCR. It was established in 1988 with the proceeds from the filmSalaam Bombay!directed byMira Nair,which was about the lives and vulnerabilities ofstreet children.The name Salaam Baalak Trust translates literally as "salute the child". Programs at SBT includerepatriation,providing education (formal education,informal educationandopen learning), basic literacy and schooling, full care facilities for the young (up to 18 years), drop-in shelters for older children, physical and mental health care, life-skills education, vocational training, sports, job placement and counselling in HIV/AIDS.
SBT runs seven 24-hour full care residential homes for children and teenagers all over India, of which two are devoted to girls (Arushi and Udaan - Rose Home). 10 contact points-day care centers, mostly near railway stations and three 24-hour toll-free helpline service (1098), cater to children in distress and problems all over India. Therefore, looking after nearly 10,000 children every year. Salaam Baalak Trust children, who have been trained in theatre, dance and puppetry, are giving performances all over the world.
Since 2007, SBT Delhi has been running theCity Walk Program,a guided tour throughPaharganjandNew Delhi Railway Stationarea. The guides are former street children who went through the same process from the Trust. The walk aims to sensitise the guests about street life, street children and children in distress. During the Walk, the guides share their personal story of survival and walk them through the contact points/day care and residential homes. The walk, thus, also provides an opportunity for the young adults to improve theircommunicationandmarketingskills. All proceeds go directly towards the Trust to enable more opportunities. From April 2019 to March 2020, the City Walk Program did 902 walks and 8353 visitors were sensitised from across the world.[citation needed]
In addition to the City Walk tour, SBT also offers a Heritage Walk throughOld Delhi,showcasing six hidden places, including markets, havelis, and five different religions that have existed in the area since 1638. This walk acquaints tourists with all that has survived in Old Delhi sinceShah Jahan,the fifth Mughal Emperor who made Delhi the capital of his empire. The walk takes tourists on an adventure ride through the city and lands panoramic views of Old Delhi from a spice market rooftop. It ends at one of SBT's contact points to offer a glimpse into what street children have survived.
History[edit]
Originally established in 1988 to rehabilitate the children who appeared in the film,Salaam Bombay!(1988) inMumbai,Salaam Baalak Trust started working in 1989, and by 2005 it had 17 centres for street child throughout India.[2]
This struck a chord with thetrustees,who identified the potential in India'sstreet children.Atrustwas created where young street boys and girls could feel secure and could breathe hope. InNew Delhi,SBT started its operations with a staff of 3 and 25 children in the open-air balcony of the Police Station at theNew Delhi Railway Station.It has now grown to employ a staff of 142, providing support services in Delhi & NCR region. SBT currently functions through 13 Contact Points/Day Care Centers and 5 Shelter Homes, which provide a holistic child development. In its 25 years of operation, it has brought about a positive change in the lives of more than 50,000 children from India and abroad. SBT also manages an emergencyChild Helpline(1098), which is a toll-free number to reach out to children in distress at any point of time.
Starting 1999,Family Health International(FHI), with funding fromUSAID,started working with the SBT, on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, while supplying,street childrenaged between 4 and 13 with food, medical aid, education, and essential supplies.[3][4][5]Over the years its shelters have been visited by various national and international dignitaries, including,Tony BlairandCherie Blair(2005).[6][7]
Since 2003, it has also been working with volunteers fromUniversity College DublinVolunteers Overseas, (UCDVO).[8]In 2006, Salaam Baalak Trust won the‘Civil Society Award’from theNational AIDS Control Organisation(NACO) andUNAIDS.[9]Earlier in March, it started aguided city walk,through the areas managed by the Trust: its shelters, contact points, and areas around theNew Delhi Railway StationinPaharganj,where the street children live and earn a living, doing menial jobs. The tour, guided by former street children themselves, sensitizes people about the lives of street children in Delhi, and the turnaround possible in the lives of these children, when given an opportunity.[10][11][12]
Its latest home, DMRC Children Home, built exclusively for boys, was opened inNew Delhi(nearTis HazariMetroStation) in August 2010 and provides shelter to over 100 boys. The Arushi centre atGurgaonwas opened in 2008 and provided support to around 86 girls, aged between 5 and 18.
Recently, SBT has tied up with theCentral Queensland University,Australia to provide higher education to its children.
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2023) |
The legendary actorManoj Bajpayeespoke about his experience working for this NGO in his earlier days and giving workshop in juvenile home in Dongiri in his latest "The Bombay Journey" interview.
Further reading[edit]
- India: the forgotten children of the cities,by Amrita Chatterjee. Published byUNICEFInternational Child Development Center, 1992.ISBN88-85401-08-2,ISBN978-88-85401-08-2.Caste Studies VI:Jagriti; Page 32
References[edit]
- ^Annual Report, Salaam Baalak Trust
- ^Salaam Baalak TrustMercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair,by John Kenneth Muir. Published by Hal Leonard, 2006.ISBN1-55783-649-3,ISBN978-1-55783-649-6.page 61.
- ^Street Children and Youth Get a Chance in IndiaFamily Health International.
- ^U.S. Official Visits Salaam Baalak Trust's Shelter for Childrennewdelhi.usembassy.gov.28 April 2006.
- ^U.S. Assistant Secretary Richard Boucher Visits Salaam Baalak's Shelter for ChildrenUSAID, 5 August 2006.
- ^PM visits project aimed at helping poorest Indian kidswww.number10.gov.uk- Prime Minister of the United Kingdom website, 8 September 2005.
- ^Meeting Delhi's street childrenBBC News, 7 September 2005.
- ^Work in DelhiUniversity College Dublin Volunteers Overseas.
- ^FHI-Supported Projects Recognized on World AIDS DayFamily Health International, "Salaam Balaak Trust for an HIV prevention project targeting vulnerable street children and youth in Delhi".
- ^Indian Street Kids Offer Glimpse Into Their Lives With Guided ToursArchived2012-01-18 at theWayback MachineSouth Asian Women's Forum,22 May 2006.
- ^Runaway guidesThe Hindu,Businessline,6 April 2007.
- ^Discover a Delhi underbelly you never knew, through the eyes of child guidesThe Telegraph (Kolkata)|The Telegraph, 12 March 2007.
- Surviving on a little luck and lots of street smartsLA Times
- Annual Report, Salaam Baalak Trust Delhi, 2012-13