Shelter , Food and Education for Homeless Street Children

"Didi will you please, give us little money? She has a high fever, and also my three young children did not have anything to eat since morning." I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me.

I saw a helpless woman and her four children were sitting in the Sheoraphuli rail station's subway. I went ahead and asked, "Are they your children? Why don't you try to earn yourself instead of begging?"

The woman replied, "Yes, I work for two houses and pickup plastic and rag, but still I can not feed my 4 children. When my son was one month old, my husband left us (ran away to Bihar). I used to stay in a house at Sheorafuli. But I can not afford the rent. Since then rail platform is my address. Today, I could not even go to work as my daughter has got a high fever. Sheoraphuli's rail platform is my home. Today, I could not even go to work as my daughter has got a high fever. I do not have money to feed her?" I gave her money on that day.

I am a Banker, my office is in Sheoraphuli, where I see many children on the roadside. Most of the stories of their lives are pathetic like this. I wanted to know more about them. I wanted to find out where do they live, what do they do to earn, how do they spend their days and nights and where they come from? 

I went ahead to find them:

There are five platforms in Sheoraphuli rail station. The sixth platform is abandoned. They live there. They only have few old clothes. Children stay with their mother, who does some small work like rag picking all day in Sheoraphuli to feed themselves. 

Does anyone know how do these kids spend their days? 

They roam around the station all day long, without proper food, cloth, and security. There are no shoes on their foot, education is a distant dream for them.

They want to go to school, they need a house, an address, an identity. We are trying to give them home, education and jobs to mothers so that they can return to the main stream.

These children also want to learn to read and write and stand on their own feet so that they do not have to take shelter under the station's open sky.

Few of them have now learned to go to school. Some of them have got Aadhar card, children get midday meals in the morning and sometimes they get rice from the school too. Shubankar teaches them at the platform in the afternoon after returning from college. He brings food for them because education is not possible on an empty stomach.

They are tortured and sexually abused by some local mafia and criminals in the platform. Can't we save these children? Govt home does not want to admit these kids, some kids are too small to be separated from the mother.

Then what is the solution?

We have decided to rent few low-cost houses for six families to start with. We will pay the rent for each month for each family. If there is an address, they will get an Aadhar card. Then they would also get the benefit of government's charitable projects, and above all, they will get an identity in the society. We will find some job for their mothers so that they have a sustainable life ( the job of cooks, maids etc in our houses).

Please help them to get a good life, their life has not finished yet. Please stand by us."

To know more or ask question email jiban@mahajiban.org