City-based NGO CARPED traced and restored over 100 children to their biological parents in 11 months.
The figures are grim and dreadful but startlingly true. Even by a modestly rationale estimate, at least one child runs away from his or her home every 30 seconds in the country!
The reasons vary, but the nightmares are the same, for parents who have no clue about where their missing children can be traced from.
According to figures provided by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), from among the 45,000 children who go missing each year, nearly 1,100 remain untraced.
NGOs in the field attribute this to parents being averse to registering complaints with the local police.
A senior worker with a noted NGO in Hyderabad points out even more gruesome was the fact that almost 30,000 girls are lured into the sex industry each year.
Andhra Pradesh is among 5 States with the dubious distinction of having the highest rate of trafficking of children because it is a lucrative business.
An NHRC study has revealed that low-income families are the most vulnerable. Reportedly, the modus operandi of kidnappers ranges from drugging, abduction and persuasion, to deception.
To make matters worse, serious investigations and bids to trace the missing women and children are few and far between. This essentially stems from the involvement of 'respectable' people in trafficking.
In a welcome change, authorities receetly made a breakthrough of sorts, when big names were caught red-handed even as they were sending the victims abroad.
The Centre For Action Research And People's Development (CARPED), a city-based NGO working for child rights, has designed and implemented pilot projects in this regard.
The program is spearheaded by M S Chandra, who is assisted by fellow-social activists M Subhash Chandra, Shyam Sundar Reddy, Kiran Valipa Venkat and Chinmayi. They identify, trace and expose the high magnitude of unnecessary hysterectomies.
The CARPED team has attempted to put an end to the menace of child marriages among the Gangireddula community; and developed community-specific IEC material on HIV/AIDS in a tribal language (the first educational film on HIV/AIDS in a tribal language).
Chandra says that they are striving to help missing kids reach their homes, howsoever miniscule the figure is. Their project aims to create a model for NGOs and volunteers in tracing missing kids and sensitize the stakeholders about the grim reality.
Subhash says that it was their relentless pursuit that has helped in tracing and restoring over 100 children to their biological parents. It is no mean feat, considering that these figures were achieved in only 11 months.
"We traced children in Delhi, Sholapur, Bangalore, Gulbarga, Orissa, Chittoor, Mumbai and Nalgonda. Most of them were natives of Nizamabad, Basheerabad (Mahabubnagar), Virava (Khammam), Erpedu, Madanapalle, Shamirpet and Medak, and some were from far-off Nepal," he stated.
In a major bid, a group of CARPED representatives raided Prabhat Circus in Chittoor and rescued 27 children, including 9 from Nepal.
Decrying the harrowing times these children were facing, Shyam Sundar Reddy said, "The situation was deplorable and grossly inhuman, to say the least. Minors were forced to work for long hours and allowed to sleep for only 4 hours. What they got eat was unhygienic and less than required. Some of the boys were a mere 7 years old."
A parent in Basheerabad, whose kid was traced by a CARPED team, was relieved, and said, "My child is alive in New Delhi. I was getting worried when news spread of a child sacrifice in the nearby village just a week ago."
A parent in Nizamabad, who works with the Police Department, lost his kid 5 years back, and is yet to find him. He has shifted to a new place of posting, even as his wife resides in the same old house waiting for the son to return home.
"We feel we have been able to do our bit to reduce the plight of some parents. Our efforts are catching up. Recently, a volunteer from the United States, Ms. Aleesha Miller, worked on the cause to create more awareness," says Subhash, while admitting, "We have miles to go".(INN)