Mala Sonawadekar hails from Ulhasnagar, near Mumbai. She aspired to pursue an MSW from Tata Institute of Social Sciences. However, circumstances led her to study law, hoping it would align with her passion for social work and enable her to make a positive impact on society. Having gone through a broken childhood Mala knows the pain of suffering when parents are not emotionally available. For her work she saw children in homes where they hardly get to understand what childhood even means, ironically in a place which is meant for them to heal from their traumas. Mala’s project aims to strengthen existing institutions that temporarily accommodate children in need of care and protection under the law. She seeks to make the childcare institution a safe and child-friendly place where children can be given space to heal from trauma and explore their options for the future.
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by Mala Sonawadekar
In Mumbai, where everyone is always busy, there exists a quiet world for its younger ones where life seems to slow down.
A Knock on the Blue Gate
As a lawyer, while working as a legal support for the Child Welfare Committees in Mumbai, I got the opportunity to visit a shelter home of children. It was 11 o’clock in the morning, I knocked a huge blue coloured iron gate. It took some while to open the door by the Women Police in charge. Finally, she did, and I went in, I told her who I was and why I was there.
Curious Eyes and Dark Hallways
I entered the space, and I was welcomed by curiosity in the eyes of young girls ranging in age between 12 years to 17 years, who were looking at me thinking what I came for. There was a hall where all the girls sat in different rows on the floor on a bedsheet. Two Chairs were kept for the probation officer and me. It was a bit dark in the room even though it was daytime.
Simplifying the Legal Jargon
My Job? Explain the legal mumbo-jumbo of the Juvenile Justice Act in a way that wouldn’t put them to sleep. I wanted to convey that they were protected here from the circumstances they were in based on Juvenile Justice Act that talks about children who need help.
Why Children Need Care and Protection
Now, this law says that there are lots of reasons why a child might need extra care and protection. It could be because they have been hurt in some or the other way, for example sexually abused or trafficked, or if they have been forced to beg or work when they are too young. Another reason could be because they have lost their parents, or maybe they were abandoned. Sometimes, children end up in a shelter because they have been married off as a child or if a child is being raised by just one parent and needs some extra help. All these are considered as Children in need of Care and Protection, in short CNCP.
A Safe Haven Until Better Times
I told the children that the shelter was a safe place where they could stay until they found a better home, all according to the Child Welfare Committee’s orders. So, if someone was hurt (sexual abuse, trafficking, child labour) and needed time to feel safe again, they would stay until it was safe for them to return home, confirmed by a visit report. Similarly, a child left alone (abandoned) would stay until their parents were found or until they were declared legally free for adoption after an investigation. And for children separated from their parents, the shelter would be their temporary home until their parents could be located and reunited with them.
A Glimpse of Hope
Through my session, I wanted to offer them a glimpse of hope in the darkness that surrounded them. I shared what I had planned to share and wrapped things up and went to the probation officer’s office for a debrief. Soon enough, one by one, some of the girls came to me asking their unanswered questions arising from my session. They found some comfort in talking to me separately and started telling their stories.
Meera’s Question
One such girl was Meera (pseudo name) who came to me with confusion. She asked, “Didi, when can I go back home?” I asked her what happened before coming here, and she shared her story. Meera had been working in a family’s home, cooking, cleaning, and caring for a child, following her uncle’s advice. After three months, she asked to contact her family, but this was refused. When she accidentally broke a plate and was beaten, she ran away to the railway station. There, she met a police officer who brought her to the shelter. Meera wondered why she couldn’t leave, seeing other girls staying for different lengths of time. I comforted her, explaining she was protected because she was under 18 and had been subjected to child labour, which is against the law. I assured her that efforts were underway to find her parents, and until then, she would be supported and educated for a better future, free from child labour.
More Questions and histories
Other girls came and narrated their stories and asked me the same question “when can I go out from here?” I did my best to answer them, but it also put me into thinking about their plight and their trauma.
Tales of Love, Family, and Hope
They had to go back to their daily activities in the shelter home. As the day’s activities wound up, the children gathered in a common hall area. I saw them watching stories on a television about tales of love family and hope. I noticed each of the girls shrinking themselves in a corner just to hide their tears. Their tears were silent, but the sorrows were loud. They yearned for someone to embrace them with warmth and protection in this protection home. And amidst the tears and the sniffles, I couldn’t help but wonder – where was the justice in all of this?
Beyond Food, Clothes, and Safety
The caregivers at the shelter did their best to provide the nurturing environment but they lack counselling skills. They saw the sadness in the children’s eyes but felt helpless in easing their pain. I realised the needs of the children are way beyond food, clothes and safety. They seemed to be grappling with legal uncertainty in their thoughts and their eyes reflected unresolved trauma. I realized that these girls were more than just beneficiaries of the law – they were warriors of the heart, survivors of circumstance, and bearers of hope.
*Mala has not yet started. As a lawyer with the International Justice Mission in Mumbai, she has three years of experience providing legal support to Child Welfare Committees. she is now at kanthari to acquire skills and tools to start her impact making organisation.
Do you, like Mala carry a plan to start your own organisation, and are you looking for a place where you can get equipped with the necessary skills, then the kanthari impact leadership course could be the right place for you. Learn more and apply today via www.kanthari.org
