Every year, a hundred thousand children who have run away from home or separated from families end up on many of India’s railway stations. Many of them have made impulsive decisions and left home for simple reasons. Unaccompanied and lost children on railway platforms are easily exposed to various risks of street and platform life including being forced to beg or work, health and injury risks, indulging in substance abuse and different forms of exploitation. The decisions can be costly and life altering. They can easily slip into living a deprived life and lose their childhood forever.

Through early intervention, a large majority of these children can be helped in the form of rescue, shelter-care and counselling. Not only that, they can even be sent back home – to the love and care of their parents and claim their childhoods again.