Respond To 2 Crore Voices, To Curb Drug Abuse And Illicit Trafficking
Participation of credible and social organisations is particularly significant as they carry proficiency and have proven models to mobilise communities in the prevention of drug use. And, for this reason, Government partners with them for technical expertise in effectively reaching out to the children (without parental care) and families (on the verge of extinction) in need.
Due to their vulnerability, socially deprived Children are being used as a carrier for life-threatening drugs in India. In fact, it seems to have become a social norm that we unintentionally accept and tolerate in our society. This exploitatively abusive practice will continue unless society embraces a zero-tolerance attitude towards it.
It is high time for India to acknowledge the plight of 2 crore children who are parentless and abandoned and are sure shot of falling into the vicious cycle of malicious practices such as drug abuse, illicit trafficking, child labour etc.
Children are the asset of the nation, but often, they are forgotten in the priorities of the present. And deplorably they are made vulnerable by the actions of adults. They are neglected and become victims of abuse, violence, illiteracy, trafficking and drug use.
Here, the responsible role of child care organisations becomes very crucial. They provide commendable services through their outreach programmes accessing hard-to-reach parts of the country while playing an active role in advocacy and raising awareness towards issues.
Children’s earliest interactions occur within the family and can be positive or negative. For this reason, factors that affect early development in the family are probably the most crucial as upbringing in the initial years forms the foundation towards the future of children.
Institutions and organisations working directly with children must develop age-appropriate programmes and initiatives for orientating children on child abuse, online safety and services available for them. Here, offering a home-like environment, which binds a child to his/her non-biological family, could play the greatest role.
There has been a rise in the number of foster care homes in India, in fact, SOS Children’s Villages is one such pioneering and reputed model in India, which offers a loving home with a caring mother for abandon and parentless children, who grow as brothers and sisters in a Family Like Environment. SOS India also reaches out to children at the risk of losing parental care by supporting the vulnerable/Below Poverty Line families through its Family Strengthening Programme.
With the creation of holistically safe and self-reliant ecosystems, we can unfailingly save children from falling prey to the unfair activities of organized gangs and smuggling network in their respective regions.
A child is just like a sapling; without proper care and nourishment, he/she can’t be grown into a flourished tree. Here, responsible child care institutions expand their scope for overall personality building of the children through the holistic development by taking care of their emotional, social, physical and educational needs. Apart from care and support programme, they also indulge in operating kindergartens, day-care centres, schools and vocational training centres as well as run medical centres with an emphasis on specialised child care and women empowerment, towards greater dignity and self-reliance.
With adequate support from Government, corporate and individual partners, social child-care organisations can prove to be the catalyst of change towards the upliftment of deprived section to mainstream society through their long term support and care.
