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Resilience Center
In the hope of earning a decent
living or unable to tackle situations like poverty, abusive parents,
disturbing families and terminal illness, children either runaway from their
families or are abandoned by their parents. They come to Delhi usually from
Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and also as
far as the southern states.
This group of children is a highly vulnerable group, who are exposed to
abuse, neglect and harassment in their day-to-day life. The journey for
their struggle to earn a living on the street with no support system, leads
them to being physically or sexually abused or mentally traumatized.
Butterflies Resilience Center serves as a transit facility for children who
need immediate shelter, medical attention/care, legal help and counseling.
Any child who feels that s/he is being deprived of her/his rights can
walk in or call at the center and seek help. Children stay at the centre till
they need medical care, counseling and until their families are traced and
contacted. Once the family is traced, they are repatriated to their
families. If the child does not have a family or if s/he does not wish to go
back home, the child is sent either to an NGO or government children's
institution for long-term rehabilitation. Some children also decide to go
back to the streets while remaining in touch with Butterflies, staying in
the night shelter, working and studying at the same time.
Facilities Provided at the Resilience Center
 Children who are staying at the Resilience Center for short/long Term duration
are very often in an emotionally agitated state because of the psychological
implications of the crisis. Hence, every effort is made to make the
environment of the center child friendly and comfortable for these children.
The center staff, the day caretaker and volunteers at the resilience center
help these children in educational and other recreational activities and at
the same time also encourages them to indulge in constructive past times and
group activities. In order to instill a sense of collective ownership and
participation among them, children are motivated to take part in day-to-day
activities at the crisis center. Children who need to stay at the Resilience
Center for a comparatively longer duration for any reason are assisted in
continuing their education herein.
There are children who face some kind of psychological problems and are thus
assisted in coping with their internal/emotional issues. The center has a
panel of experts to look after the specific needs of the children such as
doctors, psychiatrists, lawyers, etc.
The kitchen at the Resilience center prepares nutritious meals according to a
well-balanced menu made jointly by the children and the nutritional expert.
Childline
Butterflies is part of a
national 24-hour telephone helpline service for children in need of special
care and protection called Childline. Started in Mumbai in 1996, Childline
has been replicated in 75 cities across India and is being supported by the
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. Any
child/concerned adult can dial the toll free number 1098 to access its
services.
Childline has the following important objectives
● To establish an outreach
with children in need of care and protection
● To immediately respond to
a crisis situation faced by a child
In Delhi, Childline was started in October 1998. Delhi Childline is run by 5
different NGOs who run the helpline in equally divided five different
geographical areas of the Delhi State. Butterflies has been the South Delhi
collaborative agency of Childline since its inception in Delhi. Last year
Butterflies Childline handled more than 22291 calls and each call was
handled with utmost care and concern. In our major intervention categories
in the year 2006, so far, we rescued 97 children, provided shelter to 84
children, provided medical help to 37 children and repatriated 25 children
back to their homes.
 Night
Shelter
Butterflies runs three night shelters in Delhi located at Fatehpuri,
Nizamuddin Dargah, and Ashram with the objective to provide safety to the
vulnerable children and also create space for an array of activities for
their overall development. The night shelters cater to the needs of about
200 street and working children on a daily basis. The shelters serve as a
good example of NGO- Government partnership and also of productive and
multiple use of spaces in the city. The Fatehpuri shelter is run in
association with the Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD), who owns the building
while the Nizamuddin night shelter is functioning in the premises of Hope
Project. The Ashram Night Shelter is being supported by a corporate body
called American Pacific Enterprise. The night shelters apart from providing
a safe place to sleep has facilities like lockers and toilets and services
like Alternate Education, the Children’s Development Bank, Alternate Media,
and computer training for the street and working children.
The winter of 2006-07 also witnessed the collaborative efforts of
government and civil society to create spaces for the homeless to save them
from the severe cold. Butterflies contributed by managing a temporary
shelter at Jama Masjid, which provided refuge to 50 children and women on a
daily basis.
Night Shelter Profiles
Fatehpuri Night Shelter (24
hours use): This is a shelter which is under the aegis of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as part of their programme for the
homeless people. Butterflies had entered into a partnership with the MCD
to provide shelter for street & working children in 1994 and in 2001 it
started the management of the children’s portion of the Fatehpuri night
shelter. This Government- NGO partnership is providing refuge to about 100
children on a daily basis.
Nizamuddin Night Shelter: This is another example of collaboration
and optimum utilisation of space for the poor. Hope Project, a NGO
operational in Nizamuddin Dargah area has provided space (the basement of
their office) to Butterflies to run a night shelter for the street &
working children. It was started in 2004 and caters to about 50 children.
Ashram Shelter: This shelter was started in November 2005 and is located conveniently by
the railway tracks. So, the children who stay or work in the Nizamuddin
Railway Station (located nearby) are able to use it. Also, the children
who work in the market and in our Community Kitchen use the shelter. The
Ashram Shelter has a capacity for 50 children. The corporate body called
American Pacific is supporting this shelter.
Night Reach
When the world is asleep, many street and working children are wide
awake...
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in the night , in distress or in
need of help...
 Working with street and working children, Butterflies recognized that many
children sleep during the day and work in the night and are thus more
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse in the night and are in need of urgent
help. Night Reach Programme was thus started with an aim to reach out to
this vulnerable group of children.
Objectives
● Night presence: visiting places where children sleep or
work, interacting with them and others like shop
owners, police, etc
● Dealing with emergencies
like police atrocity, medical emergency, etc
● Holding discussions with
children on issues like health, education, savings, etc
● Spreading awareness among
children and others about our programmes and activities
 As part of the Night Reach programme, small teams of Butterflies personnel
reach out to vulnerable children in and around Butterflies contact points.
The Night Reach programme starts late in the evening and continues till
early morning and is carried out, twice a month, on every second and fourth
Friday. During the programme, discussions are held with children on
education, substance abuse, savings, etc. and they are informed about
different activities carried out by Butterflies. In the process new children
are also motivated to join Butterflies programmes and activities. We also
conduct sensitization programme with community members and other
stakeholders like tea shop owners, vegetable vendors, police etc about the
rights of children and urge them to change their attitude towards street and
working children. Also, during the programme first aid is provided to those
children who are found ill. The Night Reach programme provides us with new
insights based on which we make innovations or start a new programme.
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