“For those who dare to dream, there is a whole world to win”- Dhirubhai Ambani
Hello Reader!
Today’s blog is personal and inspiring. Transitioning to independent living can be a daunting task for anyone, but it can be especially challenging for careleavers. Careleavers are individuals who have been in the care of the state, such as foster care or residential care, and are now transitioning into adulthood without the support of a family.
Every year, 114,000 children are compelled to leave their child care homes in India. There is no proper system in place to support the transition of children moving out of Childcare Institutions at the age of 18 years. In a matter of a few weeks, they are left to build their lives from scratch without education. Despite the difficulties they encountered, they are now settled and content in their lives.
Let’s hear their stories
Savita is 21 years old and has lived in a child care institution since the age of 5 years. After a lot of struggle in life, today she is living independently and working in a bookstore to meet her daily expenses.
Savita was reported as a lost child at the age of 5 years when a childcare Institution took her in. By the time she attained the age of 18 years, she had to change 3-4 child care institution. After completing 18 years, she moved to a Women’s Shelter where women could complete their bachelor’s degree and get vocational training. They arranged marriages for the girls who could not complete their studies and were not ready to move out. So, they found a suitable match for her and got her married against her wish. The marriage was a torture for her where she was beaten regularly and sexually harassed by her husband.
During her visit to the shelter home, a friend gave her CLiC’s Helpline number. She felt comfortable talking to the team as all were careleavers so it became easy for her to share her problems. Anisha from CLiC got her immediate assistance through Aprajita Helpline for counseling & shelter support.
CLiC team found a PG for her and also got her placed at a Bookstore where she is earning Rs. 8,000 every month.
Partially blind, Sandeep had no interest in studies. After leaving child care institution, he got a job as a security guard where he was not happy. Today, he is working at a pharmaceutical company where he has completed two years and is doing very well.
Sandeep is from Sikar district of Rajasthan and lived with his paternal uncle after his parents death. He was partially blind and was teased by everyone in school about his eyes. Sandeep eventually lost interest in his studies. His uncle was unable to care for him, so he placed him in a child care institution in Jaipur.
Sandeep gradually began attending school but he felt embarrassed as he was older than all the children in his class. He left the school once again. After turning 18 years, he started looking for a job but due to lack of education and his disability, he got the job of a security guard at a shop.
CLiC came to know about Sandeep and provided him with mental support. We got him placed in Dawa Dost, a pharmaceutical company, where he earns 12,000 per month while improving his skills. Recently, he also received a 20,000 bonus for completing two years. He now inspires other Careleavers
After a troubled childhood and having no family, Radha found a home environment in her child care institution where she felt safe and happy. After turning 18 years, she had to struggle to complete her education due to lack of funds. Today, she is doing a hotel management course and living in a shared accommodation.
Radha was rescued by the Child Helpline at the age of 12 and she was sent to a child care institution. In her child care institution, she found a safe and secure environment which she welcomed with open arms. Radha quickly blended into the child care institution environment. She enjoyed dancing and used to participate in her school programs. She also enjoyed cooking and used to assist in the kitchen at her child care institution. At 18 years of age, she had no family to go to so her child care institution shifted her to their aftercare home.
CLiC met Radha during their visit to child care institution and discovered that she was still living in there under aftercare support. She was very interested in studying but due to a lack of funds the institution was unable to assist her. Seeing her interests, CLiC suggested that she join Hotel Management to develop her skills. Radha enrolled in a one-year Hotel Management course. She enjoys taking the course.
Sunil parents died due to HIV and he was diagnosed the same. After struggling to find a child care institution which took in HIV kids, he finally settled in a home. He became an electrician but was not happy. Today, he is pursuing hotel management & even doing an internship in a hotel.
After the death of his parents as a result of HIV/AIDS, Sunil and his older sister were diagnosed with the illness as well. At the time, there were no child care homes for HIV-positive children in Maharashtra so they were sent to a HIV home in Delhi through a child helpline. Sunil could not adjust well at the institution and began stealing staff items and selling them to his classmates. He disliked being isolated from the other children in home. He was then moved to a child care institutio in Jaipur. He began to slowly adjust here. He struggled in school, but developed an interest in repairing household items like televisions, refrigerators, and other machines. After the age of 18, he got a job at an electrician’s shop, but he wasn’t happy.
He had come to know about CLiC from child care institution and he also knew one of the CLiC team members from their time in the same Delhi home. It became easy for him to share his problems. We counselled him and discovered that he is concerned about his future and feels isolated. We reached out to his older sister, who lived in Delhi. She persuaded the child care institution staff member to allow Sunil to stay with her. During this time, we got to know him well and got to know that he had interest in doing hotel management. We got him enrolled in the program and after 3 months, he was even hired as an intern at a hotel.
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