Hi everyone, thank you for taking the time to visit this site!

My name is Natalie Ryan, I’m 20 and a third year student in UCC’s International Development and Food Policy course. This course addresses issues such as human rights, child labour, sex trafficking, gender discrimination and is about working with the most vulnerable people in the poorest countries.

Why I need your help- Who is more vulnerable than a child living on the streets alone?

I am spending 6 months on a self-funded placement working with the Edith Wilkins Street Children Foundation in Darjeeling, India. This organization works with children who have been trafficked into India for purposes such as prostitution, slavery and to work as drug mules. There are thousands of children living in the slums or on the streets of Darjeeling because they have been abandoned, abused or orphaned.

The people I will be working with give the children an alternative option to life alone on the dangerous streets on in the unsanitary, unstable slums.

How the Edith Wilkins Foundation helps street children:

·         The Drop in Centre: Offers children a safe place to rest, a nutritious meal, games, a chance to learn how to read and write and even counseling as many of the children have been abused in some form.

·         The Night Shelter: Is a safe and comfortable place for the children to sleep away from the dangerous slums and streets. The Shelter offers counseling, education, health, music, and art facilities under the supervision of the Foundation’s staff.

·         Halfway houses: Children who are considered as being at the highest risk of sexual abuse, trafficking, slavery etc, are placed in temporary homes by the foundation where they become accustomed to a family environment. The Halfway House prepares children for either being reunited with their family or joining schools or training courses so that they have the best possible chance at a bright future.

The Success of the Edith Wilkins Street Children Foundation

·         the school drop-out rate of children who are helped by the foundation is non-existent,

·          children have completed their studies at primary, secondary and even at third level, received scholarships, and some have even been reunited with their families.

The mission of this organization is to give these children back the childhood that was taken from them or lost and also give them the tools for a happy future.

In the current economic climate donors and funding for the Foundation are rapidly depleting which impacts directly on these children. I will be working free of charge for the next six months but to make that happen, I need your help!

 

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