Lahanti
RED ALERT
The “Red Alert” project is to prevent trafficking and to promote a protective environment for vulnerable age groups from being trafficked so as to play a catalyst role for building a trafficking free safe village. Considering this devastating situation Lahanti in collaboration with My Choice Foundation, a Hyderabad based NGO is implementing this project to combat trafficking, help the victims and nurture local atmosphere in ensuring safe migration. With known facts that the state holds higher numbers of trafficking cases than other states and Dumka district having higher graphical ratio of underaged victims i.e. below 14 years age group, the project is centered in 45 Villages of 06 blocks of Dumka district.
The project strategies are to conduct “Safe Village Programs” at village and Panchayat levels which sensitises adolescents and community members; form and empower the village level Local Vigilance Committees which can track the migration, trafficking and update the status for further actions and to organise seminars at schools regarding awareness generation on safe migration and trafficking. The “Red Alert” project also runs a 24X7 helpline number 1800 419 8588 and also promotes Childline helpline number 1098 for awareness sensitisation on trafficking related issues.
Highlights of Red Alert intervention:
* 45 Safe Village Programs (SVP) in 45 villages have been organised, whereby nearly 1400 community members have been directly sensitised about trafficking and ways and means to tackle them. Approximately 350 families are estimated to have been reached out indirectly through these sessions.
* Local Vigilance Committees in 45 villages have been formed and made functional. Key committee members have been capacitated to lead the community efforts to ensure safe migration and sensitisation of the community by following safer social norms or protocols for safe migration, tracking the status of migrants of their fellow village members and liaison with department on risky issues.
* 30 schools have been reached so far covering 1500 adolescent children on awareness generation on safety precautions during migration, alternate income generating opportunities, village level Local Vigilance Committees with functions and norms for safe migration.
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Unsafe Migration is countered by Local Vigilance Committee
17 years old, Jai Baski (changed name) son of Lily Marandi (changed name) who was a student of class 8th got trapped by a middleman of his own village located in Kathikund block of Dumka district. The broker distracted Jai from his routine life of schooling and hand holding his parents on household activities by seduction of healthy income. Jai innocently followed the instruction of the broker and went to Bangalore for construction work without informing his parents or family members hoping to earn high monetary yields by sacrificing his studies and family life.
The hopes of Jai Baski crashed in Bangalore as he received poor treatments. In Bangalore Jai was exploited financially, socially and mentally. He did not receive full wage pay and was forced to live in miserable circumstances. Imposed extra hours of work, unhygienic workplace & living place, no medical aid, facility or social security existed there. Jai escaped away and returned to his native place.
Following the incident, the project team under the Safe Migration Program (SMP) arranged a community meeting along with Jai’s parents, and the broker who took Jai to Banglore was also called. The sensitization about Unsafe migration and risks of trafficking were discussed. This led to formation of the Local Vigilance Committee (LVC) in the village. It was decided by the village community that the broker would pay the remaining amount of wage with compensation to Jai’s parents. The broker under the pressure of the community & LVC paid the said amount. The LVC and community warned the broker for his actions and decided to be alert on such issues in future. No unsafe migration has been reported from the village from that date and no school drop out cases exist.