RUSH CHILDLINE

RUSH has been partnering the CHILDLINE Services since the year 1999. This  toll free telephone outreach service has been amalgamated with the single window Emergency Telephone Service of the Nation. 

CHILDLINE is still active as a services provider for children in need with education, training, medical support at its own cost.

OPEN SHELTER is a program under Government of India under Project Vatsalya (care and protection of children) that provides short term shelter to children in need of care and Protection.  Open Shelter is functional 24x7 and receiving children at any point of time. 

RAILWAY CHILDLINE is a project under Government that provides support to Railway Children in the A category Railway Stations.

Open Shelter for Children in need

Open Shelter is a crisis management centre for children in distressed conditions. Open Shelter extends shelter to any child who is in need. Open Shelter is a residential care home for children for short term which is functional 24x7.

Personnel in the Open Shelter are trained on several emergency intervention training and capacity building programs to serve vivid categories of children those are rescued in the coordination of CHILDLINE, RAILWAY AUTHORITY, POLICE, Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Labour Department, ICPS, ICDS, CMPOs, CWC, General Public and Children themselves.   

Campaigns and UNCRC CHILD RIGHTS IN PURI

CHILD RIGHTS programs are focussed through intervention across communities by involving children through Outreach, Open House and several campaigns. A dedicated team of volunteers use to monitor situations and keep surveilance on the issues relating to child sexual abuses, Chidren engaged in labour force, illicit trafficking in women and children, abandonment of children and dropout from schooling.

Child Clubs in the communities are in action which are managed by children and their participation in decision making has become a change maker.

Governance in Education

The basic goal of this campaign is to stop dropout of children from schools. This campign has received support from several agencies from time to time after a landmar achievement of enroling 700  children into their age appropriate classes again.

Swachha Bharat Abhiyan

RUSH is instrumental in the elimination of single use plastics through its dynamic mode of campaigns. Paintings, street play, signature campaigns, competitions in academic circles and debates among the population has started paying results. A consciousness drive is ongoing for a plastic free habitat in this tour corridor 

Vocational Training

The crisis of the time is unemployment which is faced by many nations worldwide. The fundamentals lies not with education but capacity building of the youth through imparting vocational training. Vocational training to all categories of youth has improved their employebility and confidence in making a carrier through self employment anywhere. 

Plantations

RUSH is initiating plantation programs across communities by distributing fruit bearing plants. Plants include Mango, Guava, Jackfruit, Cashew etc; which are grafted with the local seedlings of motherplant for tolerance to climatic conditions and quick fruiting.

In this connection, a pilot project was initiated with individual farmers and with Community whereas survival of plants become more with individul farmer and community plantation has given no result yet.

Plantation program was intending to promote community participation to combat deforestation and to address post disaster management community orchards through replacement of trees of economic value. In this context pilot programs were initiated by the agency in two different sites one with the community land and the other to assist individual villager to plant fruit bearing trees. The purpose of reclamation of a patch of community land was to generate an orchard of fruit bearing trees especially mango and jackfruit through grafted plants which shall bear fruit within a couple of years. Unlike traditional plantation from seedlings the grafted plants can start fruiting soon which can replace the loss of trees in the last cyclone.   

The plantation site which was managed by community representatives has been affected too much just after initiation of lockdown as Covid 19 restriction. The supervision of the plantation site was totally curtailed for a long period and it faced crisis of water and manure. Further the individual farmer who initiated plantation on the private land seems to be successful for his involvement in the plantation site even during the entire period of plantation. However he ensures production of fruits this in the next mango season.

As observed in the intervals the individual farmer is able to support survival of 95% of the plants by his own initiative. He has arranged protection of plants from ruminant animals lie goats and monkeys. The barricade is properly covered with net to prevent animals and trespassers. To supply water to every plant he has installed a bore well and motor pump together to feed water to the plants. Since the plants have achieved maximum growth and looks robust.

Now the impact across community is observed that a positive change in the minds of people has occurred, rest of them want to partner the program but initiating partnership by the agency is not possible now. On the other hand the community land needs further intervention through implementing a drip irrigation and replantation. Similarly the ownership of community is another important factor to hold someone responsible to the project.

It needs to popularize best practice and success story of individual farmers among community and to identify more individuals who can work hard to change the fate through fruit cultivation. The agency is also looking forward for support agencies from within the nation and abroad to provide this innovation a broader scope. The agency is still seeking fund assistance from CSR, Government and FCR donors to carry on the innovation.

Overview on implementing the Plantation Program.

Thanks to India Association of Greater Charleston whose members have donated to support this mission. However the project team has initiated process to identify locations in the outskirt of the city and identified few locations where plantation is highly required. Out of the entire locations only two villages Goulpur and Sasan Damodarpur were selected. The former village Gokulpur though located20 km far from city it is not practical to review the progress hence a beneficiary was selected who should let his land and provide care to the project at that location. The later Sasan Damodarpur is close to city and the community decided to provide space for plantation.

In view of paucity of funds the plantation at road side pavements were kept aside for the actions done under the department of forest  rather focus was set to develop the pilot projects at two major base points.

Both the places though seriously affected in the cyclone Fany and even the debris was not cleared from around the villages it was decided to get the area ready for plantation. It took a lot of resources to reclaim the land sites and fencing was done with barbed wire and concrete poles. The plantation area was also properly gated before initiating plantation and to protect it from animals.

The plantation group took help from the resource persons from the horticulture faculty who has extended their guidance in the entire process. To collect saplings a private nursery at Jaipur was selected by the procurement team. Grafted saplings of mango and seedlings of jackfruit were initially restored in the nursery then they were supplemented to the locations. Regular watering and manuring was conducted for first 4 months then the projects were delivered to community and beneficiary for further care.

The plantation project being a long term program the agency had its own contribution along with the donor agency IAGC USA. The onetime support from IAGC USA could help the tasks of land reclamation and fencing the fields and rest of the progress were based on self and voluntary support.

However during the pilot program a total number of 900 mango and 800 jackfruit saplings were planted into the site. Periodic supervision was continued by the volunteers. The individual owned site was rather made more progress as interest of the beneficiary was solely vested on the valuable plants to survive.

Both the plantation sites could survive the summer and rooting process was completed when new stems started to appear in the plants. The community site was supervised by the dedicated group of volunteers who took the responsibility to water and manure plants regularly till next 4 months.

In the meantime government has initiated Lockdown for Covid-19 preventive measures whereas supervision of the plantation site was disturbed. It became more and more difficult to clear weeds and supplement manure along with nutrients. The implementing group had took a decision to initiate drip irrigation to keep plants alive which could not be possible due to constraint of funds at this stage.

In the next process the plantation program will focus upon individual farmers as beneficiaries as such every plantation program is said to rest upon individual ownerships. The agencyis however is trying to generate more fund support to revive the community plantation soon as possible.

Railway Children

Rescue, restoration, care and rehabilitation of street children is a regular action of the agency since its inception. In addition to this activity Railway Children Project is another facet of emergency action when the transport corridors are becoming a source of child trafficking, missing and a medium of run away.  

The volunteer team is engaged in tracing out children those are survivors of Trafficking, begging, children with disabilities, missing children who use to make railway platforms as a place of stay. Children living in the slums nearby the railway stations are are often fall pray to traffickers. 

These children are the prime beneficiaries of the program on Railway Station. 

Child Marriage Prevention and adolescent empowerment

The agency isworking incoordination of the CMPOs who are keeping surveillance on child marriages. A team of volunteers are supporting the Tasforce on Child Marriage Prevention and adoescent Empoerment team.