HEARTS

HEARTS

P.O. Box 247
Arundelpet HPO, Guntur – 522002
Andhra Pradesh, India.
Tel: +91 8643 211007 Mobile : 098493 96820 (anytime)
Email: indiahearts@hotmail.com
Website: www.heartsindia.org
Contact person: Mr. Mohan Rao Dasari, Director

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
HEARTS is an indigenous registered charitable organisation established by a group of committed citizens from various fields with a strong desire to uplift abandoned, runaway and destitute children.

Despite the UN Convention on Child Rights and various policies of member countries and their Acts, the problem of street children looms large, worsening day by day. Street children congregate mostly at railway stations and bus terminals where they have a place of shelter and can beg for their livelihood. Also children prefer railway stations where free travel is possible.
Railway platform children in India have made railway stations their home, a place of living, eating and sleeping.
They live in a situation where there is no protection, supervision or direction from responsible adults. The main reasons these children leave their homes include poverty, lack of love, alcoholic parents and family disputes.

The main problems they face as street children are lack of food, shelter, harassment from antisocial elements, police, drug abuse, etc. Hence it is essential to rescue these children who are in the utmost danger. They have no access to education and information to help them grow as normal, healthy and happy children. Begging is their first occupation for survival.In addition to struggling for food, street children are not bothered about dress, health care, washing, bathing, etc. Because of their lifestyle they have a very poor health condition. There is no one to care for them in times of emergency or illness. They have no savings to pay for medicines and doctors fees. When injured they leave wounds unattended. Thus they learn to live with diseases.
Children who left home for relief might in fact face abuse, harassment, exploitation and deprivation. They often undergo oppression from officials or older boys and their behaviour often becomes submissive. With such abnormal situations their lives are slowly destroyed.