ACTIVITIES
Children Welfare Centre
The Children’s development Centre facility was established to:
- Provide educational opportunities for the well-rounded growth and development of the children of sex workers
- To instil hope and confidence in the children and to offer them tools to achieve their full potential
- To treat children with respect at all times
- To meet the needs of the children in a child friendly environment.
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Anti Trafficking Awareness
Our sister organization known as Kayakalpa operates right from the heart of the red light area in Pune, India. It has been working since 1993 and has grown since then. We have been working to prevent incidents of trafficking in women and children through rescue, rehabilitation, providing shelter, skill training, employment opportunities, providing medical and legal assistance and creating awareness against this issue.
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HIV/Aids Counselling
The objective of this program is to reduce the vulnerability sex workers and their children to HIV/AIDS. A number of methodologies are employed to create awareness including street plays, individual counseling, blood camps, condom promotion and mass education campaigns.
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Why children of sex workers ?
It is estimated that a child goes missing every eight minute. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report in India, there are approximately 5.4 million children of prostitutes, and most live with their mothers in red light areas (NHRC, 2008).
The children of prostitutes often struggle to meet their basic needs like food,shelter ,medical care etc because of the brothel keeper’s oppressive structure. These children do not have adequate food, safe shelter, education, and clothing., Brothel keepers take advantage of this deprivation, using children to pressure their mothers into providing sexual acts to customers without condoms or to work extra hours so that the brothel keeper can make more money.
These women face the challenge of bringing up their children in an unsafe environment where criminal activity,drug trafficking,gang violence is at a constant rise.
These children often go through tremendous traumatic experience when they watch their mothers engaged in sexual activities.
“Seema’s Project – Step Towards Life” works towards protecting them by providing them shelter in the most friendly and safe environment.
Our child welfare centre believes in three methodologies
RESTORE
Restoring and rebuilding the lives of the children of sex workers can be a daunting task but not impossible . Though the children come here in their most wretched state, Seema’s project believes that these children can be transformed into useful members of society if they are given proper care, love and attention.
PREVENT
Children of sex workers have their own physical, emotional, and educational needs which goes unnoticed and are exposed to abuse , bullying in school including the viscious cycle of trafficking. . Seema’s project – Step Towards Life protects these marginalized children by providing them a safe home, quality education, nutritious food and counseling services .
PROTECT
Our work in child protection involves identifying and closely working with the children of sex workers in the red light area who are at risk to exploitation and trafficking. We lobby with government and other partners to strengthen our child protection laws and policies in order to prevent and respond to issues revolving around the children of sex workers. We also work with other like minded institutions and organizations to change ambiguous attitudes of the society towards the children of sex workers.
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