Our work in India, Tanzania and the UK.
In India, Tanzania and the UK, we’re helping vulnerable children at risk on the streets and across transport networks to rewrite their future. In the last year...
British Transport Police and rail staff have been trained in the UK to identify vulnerable children and keep them safe.
children in India have been reached and protected across eight railway stations and one bus terminal.
young people in Tanzania have been supported to move away from the streets and into a brighter future.
… arrive frightened and alone at rail and bus terminals across India, Tanzania and the UK every day. Some are passing through having fallen prey to groomers, traffickers or drug gangs. Others are lost miles from home.
For most, child abuse and neglect, poverty, family conflict, destructive relationships and lack of support have forced them to go in search of safety. And children as young as five head to the streets to find sanctuary.
… alone, children on the street don’t know who they can trust. Innocent children are overlooked by those with the power to protect them, seen by some as a nuisance, and invisible to others.
But they’re seen by predators, gangs and criminals ready to exploit and abuse them.
… children slip through the cracks in social and government structures, exposing them to serious danger.
Limited capacity, overstretched resources, and organisations working in isolation are standing in the way of the effective child safeguarding systems our children need and deserve.
… means the voices of street children are silenced by a system that doesn’t see them. Government data collection methods that don’t recognise anyone not living in a household render them invisible to the institutions and policymakers that have the power to protect them.
Their stories go untold. The chance to learn what needs to change for street children is lost. Some of the most vulnerable children in society are being left out of child protection policies and programmes and their rights as children overlooked – as if they don't exist and their experience on the streets doesn't matter. They do, and it does.
From how we help children and families to who we collaborate with and where we place our efforts in driving change – each pillar of our work is underpinned by what we’ve learnt from street children over the last three decades.
We work with families before a child turns to the streets, while they're on the streets and after we've got them to safety.
By working with parents before difficult circumstances become crises, we prevent vulnerable young people like Kibibi (name changed) turning to the streets. When crises strike, our safety nets set up across transport networks identify children and young people on their journey to the streets and those already surviving their cruelty.
Being by their side in this crucial moment, with no agenda, we earn their trust. We connect with them quickly. We get them to safety fast. And we stay by their side helping them unpack their problems and manage their trauma.
Young people like Kibibi finally have hope and the chance for a brighter future.
We transform railway stations and bus terminals into sanctuaries of safety. By making these physical spaces hostile to abuse, we're sending a clear message to those who would do children harm: your crimes will not go unnoticed or unpunished.
And we don’t stop there.
We're empowering every person within the transport network including transport police, train operating companies and others working in and around transport hubs, to join us in keeping vulnerable children safe. By working together, we're creating a world where every child is protected, no matter where their journey takes them.
We bridge the gaps in social and government systems and are leading the change to improve laws, policies and practices needed to better protect vulnerable children.
Being on the frontline means we see and hear firsthand what needs to change to keep vulnerable children safe. So we bring together partner agencies, authorities, policymakers and governments.
We pool our efforts, resources and expertise to strengthen child protection systems and build frontline capacity. We’re leading global action to put child safeguarding at the top of the agenda, wherever we work.
We’re developing a case for global change so robust that change must follow: change that will recognise vulnerable children in policies and see our successful child safeguarding and crisis response programmes adapted and adopted globally.
At its core will be indisputable evidence that a coordinated, universal effort is essential to protect the most vulnerable children in society. We're gathering data to underpin our case, building evidence to prove the dire need and demonstrating how our unique programmes change children's lives and transform families.
Your support makes our work possible. It’s the only way we can ensure all children are seen, heard and protected, so no child has to live on the streets anywhere in the world.
