From Red Streets to a Green Village – Rev. Mathew Philip, Nilambur

Navjeevan Centre Mumbai, Who we are and for what?

Navjeevan Center was initiated with the aim of reaching out to Commercially Sexually Exploited women, to motivate and support them to give up their demeaning occupation and work towards integrating them in society. In the course of work, the sex workers themselves expressed the need to first move their children away from the exploitative environment, so that they too do not get pushed into the same occupation. Thus the Center began its work in earnest to provide for the sex workers and their children the opportunities needed to free themselves from the dehumanizing life situation and to integrate them in society as a family.

Target Groups

There are two different groups benefiting from the activities of Navjeevan Centre.

• The first, and primary, group is the young children of commercially sexually exploited women in Mumbai.
• The second group is the commercially sexually exploited women of Mumbai.

Both groups are important and are essential components of this organisation. It is expected that significant growth and learning will take place for both clientele groups.

 

Current Activities of Navjeevan Centre

 Programmes for the children:

The goal of this programme is to provide the much-needed facilities and nurturing environment in which these children can recover in body, mind, and spirit from the horrors of life in the brothels. The nature of the facility provided is based on the need expressed by the women themselves.

 

 Day / night Care Centre:

Children of mothers who are not willing to send their child for total residential facility are taken care of in the day and night shelters which is in the vicinity of the brothels where the women work. The existing two centres cater to about 50 children each in the age group of 3-12 years.  The expenses are partly met by a government grant.

Social workers through regular visits motivate them to send their children to the day/night care centres. The social workers keep the mothers abreast about the activities of the centre and also the growth of each child. Regular contacts with the mothers are an essential component, in the effective functioning of the centre.  The activities of the centre are focused on providing basic nutrition and elementary value education. Primary training to prepare the child for formal school is undertaken at the centre. Cultural programs, field visits and outing to enhance their growth and understanding of the outside world form part of the centres curriculum. Children are enrolled at the government run school for continuing formal education. Regular visits and monitoring of the children’s progress in school is carried out by trained social workers. Periodic health check-ups and regular immunization program is an integral part of the Centres work. Professional counselors help children with emotional adjustment and behavioral problems.

Orientation (preparatory) Centre

Children whose mothers are willing to send them to a residential facility is first enrolled in the orientation centre for a period of 6 months to 1 year, to prepare the children both physically and emotionally for the disciplined life in the institution which is very different from what they have been accustomed to. Under the care of house parents and counselors they are made to detach themselves from the learning that they have assimilated at the brothels and also to orient them to institutional life.

During this period a thorough health check up and monitoring is conducted to rule out communicable diseases. This centre aims to give appropriate care for the infected children. Children with health problems would be treated at the centre or would be referred to hospitals and once cured; they would be shifted to the children’s institution. Functional literacy program, value education, exposure visits and training workshops form part of their curriculum.

Residential home:

From the orientation centre the child moves to a residential home. The child would be taken care of in this home till he/she becomes 18 years. This is the place that the child would spend most of his childhood. The home has been functioning for the past 10 years, where children both boys and girls in the age group of 3- 18 live in “homes”(cottages) with no more then 20 children under the direct supervision of house parents or house sisters. The house parents and sisters live with them providing the love, care and understanding needed for the physical, mental and psychological growth of the children. These separate homes collectively constitute the Navjeevan Village.

1. a) School: There is a school, called Navjothi School in the Navjeevan Village. Children from the nearby villages are also enrolled in the school. Competent teachers are appointed to teach and monitor the child’s growth in the set-up of formal education. Since majority of these children have started schooling at a late age, there would be emphasis on remedial teaching. Collaboration with organizations like Pratham, promoting alternative teaching methodology will be continued. Students from B.Ed colleges will assist the teachers in developing remedial curriculum and teaching aids. Older children are also helped through aptitude test for ascertaining their strengths and thereby help them to choose relevant skills in future.  Students are prepared to appear for the X board exam through the Maharashtra State Board. The library would be further stocked with more relevant books and audiovisuals, to motivate the children. Regular workshops and classes by experts are conducted for the teachers to broaden their understanding and teaching methods and to enable them to understand the psychology and the emotional needs of these children.
2. b) Vocational Training unit: The skill unit was initiated in September 2009 and the first batch of 218 students is undergoing/ completed 6 month to 1 year training in 10 different courses. Each trade has an average capacity of 15-20 students per batch and some trades have 2 to 3 batches. The various courses offered are Electrical, electronics, computer hardware, software, mechanical, civil, typewriting, fashion design, etc.This unit functions with the collaboration of Fr. Agnel Technical training Institute. It has helped the youths of Navjeevan centre as well as the unemployed youth from nearby villages get job oriented training.
3. c) Health centre: A primary health centre catering to the needs of the children, staff and the villagers have been functioning for the past one-year. Since there are no government hospitals or clinic is the nearby vicinity of the residential home, the health centre is of prime importance. A full time residential nurse and visiting doctors take care of the health needs. The health centre is equipped with needed medicines and first aid kits to deal with the immediate health needs of the children. Frequent health camps to develop awareness on heath issues as well as to monitor the health status of the children and the villagers are conducted. Specialists from the different fields of medicine attend the clinic through the year.

 

Extension Homes:

The youths on successfully completing their school education at Navjyothi school move to the extension homes in Mumbai for higher education/ professional courses. There is one extension home in two in Kalyan and two in Vashi, Goregaon catering to 38 youths who are studying class 11th/12th / professional courses or working.

 

1. B) Programme for mothers:

Counseling:

Day to day contact and interaction with the mothers is an essential component in making the work of Navjeevan meaningful.  The counseling centre is in the same premises as the day care centre in order to provide support and encouragement to the mothers. Apart from personal counseling, the centre also offers legal guidance to mothers. The effort of the centre are directed towards guiding them to an alternative life style

 

Health monitoring:

Concerted effort is made to deal with the medical needs of the mothers, especially who are HIV positive. Regular check up for HIV is conducted; efforts are made to get medicines and other needed things. Mothers who are HIV positive are counseled and assisted in getting effective medical treatment. Assistance is given to mothers who need hospitalization or institutionalization. Mothers who desire to return to their villages are also helped.

 

Saving schemes:

The future of these women is very bleak, since they are likely to be thrown out of the brothels as age catches on. It is imperative that the women have some form of savings. The centre provides all needed assistance to motivate women to save-up some money for their future. They are constantly exposed to the various schemes available with banks and other institutions. The social workers assist them in doing all the legal formalities in opening a savings account.

 

Income generation program.

This program is geared towards the women affected with HIV or other major illness due to which they are considered useless burdens by the brothel keepers and left on the streets to fend for themselves. These women need employment that is less strenuous at the same time income generating. Efforts are on to explore and tie up with some work establishments, to get work for the women. Thus, women availing the day care service at Navjeevan who can undertake work are automatically part of the income generation programme. Women will also be given required training by inviting external resource persons to develop market-oriented skills.

 

Navjeevan is looking at the income generation methods as an effort towards rehabilitation for women, who after picking up these, may choose to leave the profession. In the later stage, Navjeevan can consider selling the products created directly through space at high-end shops helping the women earn viable profits from the skills they pick up at the centre. The income generation programme is not meant to be a source of earning alone but also to keep the women occupied as they can go into depression due to their illnesses.

 

Micro credit scheme: Many CSEW’s do not have any legal identity of their Indian citizenship. They are victims of trafficking and unable to provide for any proof of residence which is a requirement for opening bank account or availing of loans. Our experience is that if women are assisted with small loan facility they are able to start small business like selling vegetables, eatery etc. These loans could also help them look for rented premises to live. Housing is a major requirement for the rehabilitation plan.

 

Rescue work: 

There are occasion where we have come in contact with women who have just landed in the red light area or are new entrants and need to be moved out quickly. Thus requires that we make arrangement for their temporary stay or arrange for them to return to their hometown. Immediate intervention would prevent them getting pulled into the trade. To rescue women from the holds of brothel keepers and pimps require payment of the money invested in the women by the brothel keeper.

 

Documentation:

The lives of women of the red light area are being documented on an ongoing basis at Navjeevan. It needs to be further strengthened to ensure detailed documentation keeping in mind the socio- political influences on the entire set up of the Red light area. The effect on the physical and mental health of the women will be documented thoroughly, aimed at using it for advocating for the issues affecting the women of the red light area.  Case studies, research and survey would be undertaken to develop the database.

 

Rehabilitation:

The women who opt to get out of the demeaning occupation are given necessary support and guidance. Mothers who are desirous of getting married or who would like to settle down to lead a family life with their children, are given full assistance. This includes visiting the mothers where they live, counselling them, meeting with the prospective husbands, and guiding them to legalize their marriage. Mothers are encouraged and supported to start some income generating work.  Regular follow up visits are conducted to support and help them to stick to their decision of giving up prostitution.

 

Village outreach program: 

At Navjeevan village, we also aim at the development of not only ourselves but also the society and near by villages. In keeping with the principle of optimum utilization of available resources, the school and health centre facilities at Navjeevan Village is also open to the people of the nearby five villages. Navjeevan will also strive in getting the villages to be more self-sufficient.

In the past years, Navjeevan Centre has assisted the villagers in digging bore wells, helped in conducting 4 marriages and also helped in the construction of 4 individual houses for the most indigent families and construction of 5 more houses are underway.

 

Regular visits and interactions with the villagers is undertaken to understand their need and social problems and efforts will be made to organizing them to find solutions.

 

Awareness and Advocacy:

Awareness about the Navjeevan Centre among the public and advocating the cause of these underprivileged women and their children is done through publishing issues of newsletter regularly, campaigns, holding workshops and through conducting training programmes. Sensitisation programmes in schools and colleges are regularly carried out. Navjeevan along with other like-minded organizations strive to campaign for the rights of these underprivileged women and their children.

 

Developing and sustaining viable income generating programs: In the past few years, various attempts have been made to develop the vast acres of land at Murbad through various sustainable means to cater to the needs of Navjeevan Village and also to generate income. In other words, the aim of Navjeevan is to achieve self-sufficiency through sustainable growth. At present the Centre has its own agricultural production of rice, groundnut, tapioca, vegetables that helps to meet the Centre’s need to some extent.