Five Children and their Mother on the Street

On 25^th April one concerned person called to our helpline and informed that there were four children wandering on the streets with a lady and that she had sold the smallest child.  Our ever alert team immediately rushed to the spot but the effort was in vein because they had disappeared.    One week later another informer tipped us off that he found some children with a lady.  This time our team went prepared having informed the police.  Four children and the lady were brought to CHILDLINE office. After inquiry we found that the lady taking the children around the streets was their grandmother.  She informed us that her daughter Sindhu (Given Name) was a sex worker. She said that the fifth child was with Sindhu. She had given the child to a person to look after when she wandered the streets.

We arranged shelter for all four children in shelter homes for care and rehabilitation of the children through the Child Welfare Committee of the District.   In the next week, Sindhu called to our helpline and sought permission to see her children, so our staff asked her to come over to CHILDLINE office with her youngest child.  She brought her child and our staff talked to her for a length of time. She revealed that she was abused by a man at the age of 12 for the first time.  Then she had a live in relation with different people and mothered all the children from different people.  She was carrying the small child with her wherever she went.

We counseled Sindhu and she expressed willingness to surrender her small child and we arranged a home for the child.  Sindhu also wanted to return from her deviant ways and we found a job for her and she wants now to live for her children.

We find that after over 23 years of our efforts there is a great awareness among the general public to the issues facing children. The very fact that people immediately call up to our helpline when they find children in distress is a positive impact of our incessant efforts to restore child rights.