A common theme of empowerment through outreach and education is found within the non-profit organizations we had the opportunity to meet with in Bangalore and Chennai. The NGOs’ target population often include children who live in slums, street children, and orphans — groups that historically possess an intractable stigma in Indian society.
Founded in 1997, Sathi works with a very specific sub-population of at-risk youth: runaway boys who live on railway platforms.
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In the case of most non-profits we met with, it was often not difficult to imagine a US counterpart (or even an example in Wooster) that related directly in its mission and programming. However, the highly specialized issues that Sathi addresses by providing direct outreach to these platform children are part of a phenomenon not found on such a scale in US cities. Sathi, which is based in Karnataka with affiliates across India, found that in one New Delhi platform alone, 35 new children end up on the train platform everyday. The equivalent of an overcrowded kindergarten class. Thirty-five new members of this at-risk community. Everyday. In just one train station in one city in a country home to three of the fifteen largest cities in the world. (click image at left to enlarge map) |
Not only do organizations that perform this outreach face a massive problem of scale, but it is often difficult to gain entry into these communities as an outsider. Only a fraction of kids who are approached actually accept offers of help (children with drug additions represent some of the most challenging cases). Most tragically, these children are usually not running away from abuse or neglect, but something as simple as an argument at home.
As Mr. Pramod Kulkarni, the General Secretary of SATHI, shared with us during our meeting, part of Sathi’s social mission is to share their story, including insights about non-profit management and the Indian experience more generally. In the first week of abroad component of GSE, we look forward to engaging organizations such as Sathi to help introduce students to the complex issues found within the non-profit space we will be operating in.
