Prayas
Prayas is a Non-governmental organization based in Delhi, India. It was founded in June 1988 by ex-Delhi DCP Amod Kanth after a fire destroyed makeshift homes and ragged shelters built by children in the slums of Jahangirpuri in Delhi.[1][2] Amod K Kanth, former Director General of Police(DGP) of Arunachal Pradesh cadre and DCP for Crime in Delhi, was posted in Delhi when the fire broke out and he visited the site of the fire as part of his duty and was concerned on welfare of children and this prompted the birth of Prayas in a one-room in Jahangirpuri with the help of friends from the Delhi Police and the Delhi School of Social Work in a small way.[1]
Recognition[edit]
The charity received international recognition for anti-trafficking initiatives by the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report published by the US Department of State. Amod Kanth, the head of Delhi Police and founder of Prayas, was commended as an international "model of public service" for his efforts on behalf of India's children.[3] It began with 25 children and till 2021 organisation has footprints across nine states and Union Territories including Delhi, Bihar, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Island, Jharkhand and Kashmir serving 50,000 beneficiaries from various walks of life including women, urban homeless and marginalized youth with its committed team of more than 700 professionals and volunteers who are social-workers, child psychologist, medical professionals, teachers/educators, welfare officers and hundreds of interns and others.[1] Prayas had always been pro-active in its response to various crisis like its contribution to the victims of, the earthquake of Gujarat in January 2001, the tsunami in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2004, the floods in Bihar or the earthquake in India and Nepal in 2016, and many natural calamities when organisation had jumped in to galvanise its resources to reach out to affected persons to alleviate their sufferings with special focus on children and women who are always the worst sufferers in such situations.[1] Even during the COVID-19 pandemic which is impacting thousands of children and migrant men and women across India,the Prayas team is again on the field, among the people who are needing help and succour and working relentlessly to strengthen the efforts of the government and the civil society by ensuring the availability of cooked food and dry rations to a large number of stranded workers and their families that could not reach their native places(especially to contractual labourers, daily wage workers, rickshaw pullers, construction workers, street vendors, manual scavengers, brick kiln workers, workers at small repair shops, roadside eatery workers, security guards etc.) and on average the team reaching out to more than 4,000 people every day by serving them hot cooked food and catering to other services.[1] Recently the organisation started 24×7 Childline 1098 which is functional at six locations of New Delhi Railway Station, Janhagirpuri, Bawana (Delhi), Raxaul and Samastipur (Bihar) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to support the distressed children along with their families during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown.[1] In 2021, the organisation had partnered with an agency of the Rajasthan government to train 100 beggars who had been selected for various vocational training and skill jobs so that they can support their families and bring them out of their misery and transform their destinies and for this purpose these beggars were divided into five groups called T-20 BHOR Teams as they are being trained in different vocations.[1] The programme is conducted in association with Dr Niraj K Pawan, Principal Secretary of Labour, Skilling and Rehabilitation, and is planned for entire state of Rajasthan to make the state "BhikhariMukt" or "beggar free" and also reflects the working style of organisation which has always focused on a public-private partnership to promote good practices since its formation and bring about permanent changes in the demography of the country.[1]
In 2000,the organisation had launched the Rape Crisis Intervention Centre, presently known as One-Stop Crisis Centre, to help the victims of sexual assault, particularly minor girls, in the presence of then Minister of State for Social Justice Maneka Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma also gracing the occasion with his presence.[1] The organisation is also involved in introducing large number of other programmes in collaboration with the government and private institutions which include the Jan Shikshan Sansthan under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship since 2000, DUSIB, Asian Foundation, Freedom Fund, Adoption Centrum, NSDC, Coca-Cola, National Scheduled Caste Financial Development Corporation, National Backward Class Financial Development Corporation, Schneider Electric India Foundation Ltd, BC Jindal Electrician and Plumbing Training Programme and the Tata Power Delhi Development (TPDDL) project and also partnering with various government agencies and making efforts in the formulation of policies, strategies and approaches to alleviate the miseries pertaining to deprived and under-privileged sections of the society and played an important role in the formulation of the Tenth Plan and the re-enactment and implementation of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, National Policy and Charter for Children and National Commission for Protection of Children Rights.[1]
Collaborations[edit]
Prayas has collaborated with the Rotaract Club of DTU Regency to organize visits from their members. In these visits, the members teach the children at Prayas. Further, additional morally sound life advice and tips are given to them.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Swarup, Anil (31 March 2021). "Prayas". www.millenniumpost.in. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ↑ "Amod Kanth - U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes". www.tipheroes.org. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
- ↑ "II. International Best Practices". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
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