NGO: UDAYAN CARE

Volunteer Work Report

Course: Social Awareness Program (SAP)

Submitted By

Ila Shyantani Das (15D)

MBA(IB) 2021-23
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi
 Acknowledgment

This project work required an enormous amount of work, research, and dedication. The
implementation would not have been possible if I did not have the support of many
individuals and organizations. Therefore, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all of
them.

First of all, I am thankful to Udayan Care as an organization for its institutional support and
for providing necessary guidance concerning the project’s implementation. I am also grateful
to Lalit sir, Leena Madam, and Aditi Srivastava Madam for the provision of expertise, and
technical support in the implementation. Without their superior knowledge and experience,
the Project would lack quality outcomes, and thus their support has been essential.

I am grateful to the former volunteers who shared their experiences and learnings with us,
which helped us in completing our volunteer work.

I would like to express our sincere thanks to other volunteers who devoted their time and
knowledge to the implementation of this project. They helped us when we faced a language
barrier while interacting with the youths.

I express my gratitude toward my colleagues and batchmates for their kind co-operation and
encouragement which help us in the completion of this project.

Last but not the least, I thank my family for providing moral and mental support during the
project work.
 Overview: NGO Udayan Care
The Sanskrit word Udayan means 'Eternal Sunrise.' Udayan Care aspires to bring sunlight
into the lives of those who are underprivileged and in need of assistance. Udayan Care, a
Public Charitable Trust founded in 1994, strives to empower underprivileged children,
women, and youth in 28 cities throughout 15 Indian states.

Beginning in 1996 with the establishment of a single small family home (Ghar) for orphaned
and abandoned children in Sant Nagar, Delhi, Udayan Care has expanded its work for
disadvantaged groups over the last 26 years by establishing more family homes, assisting
girls' education, providing vocational training, and so on. Udayan Care has nourished over
25,000 young minds to date. Only the assistance of like-minded people, funders, and partners
who believed in Udayan Care's work and vision made this possible.

Areas of work

Child and Youth Care- In India, 23.6 million children live without parental care, meaning
that at least one of their parents does not look after them overnight. These children, who have
been taken from their biological families for a period of time or permanently, require
protection in the form of high-quality alternative care. Only 1.4 percent of the population
receives any kind of official alternative care. Child-centered family strengthening initiatives
or community-based care for such youngsters are essentially non-existent on the ground. The
government's efforts to promote adoption haven't been extremely successful.

At the age of 18, the majority of children in aftercare are expected to be self-sufficient. Many
people fall prey to the vulnerabilities that young people encounter without any further
direction or support.

The lack of awareness on how to develop systems of care for the mental well-being of such
children, such as counselling or trauma-informed care, exacerbates the problem. There is also
a lack of research and data on the number of children who require or live in alternative care in
India.

Residential care should be used only as a last resort, with a focus on family strengthening and
community-based care. Institutional care, on the other hand, is still the most common option
used by India's juvenile justice gatekeepers.
Udayan Care is dedicated to promoting the long-term and comprehensive development of
children and teens by protecting their rights and safeguarding their well-being. People at
Udayan Care  gently prepare them for life, remaining by their side while they progress
through the stages of childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. We constantly prioritise
children in whatever we do.

Education- In India, girls' education, particularly higher education, is frequently regarded as

a low priority. According to a 2017 report by the National Commission for the Protection of
Child Rights (NCPCR), roughly 39.4% of adolescent girls in the 15-18 age range do not
attend any educational institution. "The vast majority of them - nearly 65 percent - are "either
tied down in domestic tasks, are dependents (married), or are obliged to beg, among other
things."

Enrolment of girls in primary school is 97.6%; enrolment in secondary school is 81 percent;

enrolment in senior secondary school is 56.4 percent; and enrolment in higher education is
23.5 percent, according to current transition rates. (According to the AISHE Report 2018-19).
Between Class X and Class XI, the biggest percentage of girls drop out. The secondary level
had the highest average yearly dropout rate at different stages of school study in 2016-17; the
rate was 19.8. The age range 16-24 years has the highest percentage distribution of those who
have dropped out or stopped attending school, at 55.4 percent (with males at 53.6 percent and
females at 57.4 percent ).

All of this stacks the deck against a woman earning a degree and realising her full potential.

At Udayan Care, we are dedicated to ensuring that young girls from low-income households
have the opportunity to pursue and complete their higher education and become self-
sufficient'shalinis,' or empowered women.

Skilling- India's youth are its untapped potential. A young person under the age of 24
accounts for one out of every three people in the country, although most have had no formal
exposure to skill development. Despite the fact that youth make up a substantial portion of
the Indian workforce, 80 percent of them lack employable skills.

Furthermore, there is a significant gap between the demand for and supply of trained labour
in the country. Because of poverty, a lack of knowledge, and a lack of understanding of the
job market, young people from disadvantaged communities are unable to obtain technical,
vocational, or professional skill training.

According to the 2011 Census of India, by 2015, the working age group would account for up
to 65 percent of India's population. Technology and specialised skill development are
required to unlock the potential of this big youth population and improve their employability
quotient. Only 2% of India's workforce is currently skilled.

Nearly a quarter of the population of India lives in poverty. The need for economic
development is obvious. The key is in the hands of the country's youth; regrettably, only 2
out of every 5 economically active youth are either unemployed or working but living in
poverty. In 2014, India has 73.3 million unemployed youngsters, accounting for 36.7 percent
of world unemployment!

Young people in poor communities lack work prospects and the opportunity to learn the skills
they need to advance in their careers. Such potential must not be squandered.

Positive Impact On The Society

 Background of The Work
My work was in the Child and Youth Care division. For children who are separated from
their family and hence lack parental care, Udayan Care provides them ‘Udayan Ghar’. These
children grow up under homely care until they turn 18 years of age. But when they turn 18,
suddenly the safety net is removed and they are left unattended as under the law of Juvenile
Justice ( Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, which does not permit him/her to stay in
such settings any further. The child who just turned adult could have got a chance to
complete his/her education, find a decent job, and could have trained to become completely
independent. But is now withdrawn of all support, counseling, probably facing an identity
crisis, on his/her way to becoming deviant and thus, may end up losing his/her aspirations
and the resources put in a line that once aimed at making him/her a responsible productive
being.

The transition of these young adults, from a state of complete dependency to the state of
complete independence is a delicate one where they go through emotional, psychological and
situational turbulences. Therefore, Udayan Care has its Aftercare programme to help these
youths or the Care Leavers during this transition. These young adults need a great deal of
support, probably more than ever, in matters like higher education, accommodation, stress
management, and employment, etc.

The importance of a comprehensive Aftercare programme for all youth leaving Child Care
Institutions (CCIs) and other kinds of Alternative Care at the age of 18 is the emphasis of
previously done research. It is based on a research on Aftercare practises undertaken by
Udayan Care with support from UNICEF, Tata Trusts, Shri Deep Kalra, and the state
governments of Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, titled "Beyond 18:
Leaving Child Care Institutions - Supporting Youth Leaving Care." The study includes the
perspectives of 435 Care Leavers and over 100 Key Informants from across the five states,
including child protection officials.

The study proposes the 'Sphere of Aftercare' as a comprehensive conceptual framework for
Care Leavers on their journey to self-sufficiency, and separates the scope of Aftercare into
eight distinct but interdependent domains that are necessary for mainstreaming. Its goal is to
ensure that they have a smooth transition into adulthood.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act of 2015, its Rules of 2016, and the
Child Protection Scheme (formerly known as the ICPS) provide a broad legal framework for
Aftercare, but it has yet to reach Care Leavers in its entirety. Because the State is the
guardian of these Care Leavers, the State's relationship with them is that of a parent and
ward. However, as the study shows, Care Leavers confront high vulnerabilities and re-
traumatization when they reach adulthood, which has a negative impact on their future,
necessitating immediate assistance.

Care Leavers statistics-

Key Findings from Previous Study-

 Transitioning out of foster care re-traumatizes adolescents who have previously been
through several traumatic childhood experiences.
 Because there are gaps in information, access, skills, expertise, and training on
transition planning, human resources, and financial investments, the juvenile justice
system is unprepared for Aftercare.
 Child Care Institutions' employees and child protection bureaucrats have a poor
conceptual knowledge of aftercare and lack the ability to establish Individual Care
Plans.
 There is no database of Care Leavers who have left Child Care Institutions, and there
is no follow-up on these young people to monitor their health and rehabilitation. Care
leavers do not have a single point of contact for information and services related to
aftercare.
 The existing per-youth funding under the Child Protection Scheme budget of INR
2,000 per month is insufficient.
 In the current gendered approach to rehabilitation and actual socioeconomic realities,
female Care Leavers are at a bigger disadvantage than male Care Leavers.
 Project Allocated
Project Title: Conducting Interviews of Care Leavers (CL) as a part of data collection
for Research, Policy & Advocacy (A.R.T.) Team of Udayan Care

Advocacy efforts are aimed at ensuring and enhancing the rights of children who are not
cared for by their parents. While Udayan Care's Child & Youth Care (CYC) practise is based
on India, the NGO's advocacy efforts are mostly focused on South Asia. Udayan Care
believes in people-centered advocacy, which empowers members of the civil society and
organisations to take action to better the lives of these children. Over the last 25 years of the
NGO's existence, consistent efforts on this front have yielded several lessons as well as
influenced the lives of children, women, and youth. As child and adolescent care
practitioners, the NGO believes in evidence-based practise and, as a result, practice-informed
advocacy and research.

Objectives of Collecting Data Through Interviews of The Care Leavers-

 To understand the current level of physical, mental, and financial preparedness of the
Care Leavers to leave alternative care centre and live his/her life on his/her own
 Influence policy and decision-makers by using persuasive and consistent methods
such as seminars, consultations and networking, on different aspects of Alternative
Care for children without parental care.
 Use the data for Research and Publications purpose
 Training to increasing capacities of stakeholders for better standards of care in
alternative care practices
 To develop demonstration models of care at the state level in order to work with local
organizations and functionaries to improve their capacities toward a non-institutional
care approach and to assist Aftercare services by focusing on the continuum of care
approach.

Expected Contribution-

 Collate the details about the youth to be interviewed

 Understand the techniques involved in the overall interaction with the youth and
follow the expected method of questioning the youth
 Contact with the youth and the centre where they are currenty staying
 Schedule meeting with the youths
 Interact with the youth and collect important data as they respond for further research
and analysis