Ranchi, April 28: Come April 30, it will be a new beginning for some 200 women rescued after being trafficked and current residents of Kishori Niketan, a shelter at Bijupara in Ranchi's Chanho block.
The state social welfare department, in collaboration with 84 NGOs under Action against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (Atsec), Jharkhand Chapter, will launch Aaghaaz (Beginning) to empower trafficking survivors.
Aaghaaz is a pilot project under which these women will be trained in interpersonal and technical skills in fields of hospitality, information technology and security management followed by job placements.
A social welfare department official said the project would be launched at Kishori Niketan in Bijupara on a pilot basis for two months.
The training module has been prepared keeping in view the educational background and interest of the selected 200 women in the age group of 16-35 years, most of whom are school dropouts.
In Jharkhand, Lohardaga, Ranchi, Latehar, Simdega, Khunti, Deoghar, Palamau and Pakur are considered vulnerable trafficking hubs.
As per Atsec, approximately 30,000 girls were trafficked from Jharkhand in 2015. After the launch of Operation Muskan last year, the figure is, however, expected to come down to 12,000 this year.
Director of Integrated Child Protection Scheme Rajesh Singh said when Atsec approached the social welfare department and apprised them of the conditions of the trafficking victims besides the vulnerable girls of remote areas who do not have a source of livelihood, they agreed to launch the project.
"In the first phase, we are training 200 girls in Ranchi district. Later, we will collect data of vulnerable girls with help from district child protection officials and extend the project across Jharkhand," Singh said.
The project will certainly help in curbing trafficking of girls who are sometimes lured to metros with lucrative job offers, the social welfare department official said.
Convener of Atsec, Jharkhand Chapter, Sanjay Mishra said they would ensure high quality training in soft and technical skills.
"We will also provide job placements after successful completion of the training," he said.
According to him, there was a huge demand for security guards nowadays at business centres, city malls and residential colonies.
"Female employees are required at old age homes and hospitals for basic services. Here, even hospitality training can help girls find jobs. Besides, the IT sector has grown everywhere in leaps and bounds. We aim to equip the girls with skill-based trainings so that they can be independent," said Mishra.
Bharti Infratel and VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) India Trust will also partner Aaghaaz.
Some of the partner NGOs in the project are Sahiya in Lohardaga, Chetna in Gumla, Jan Lok Kalyan Parisha in Pakur, Mahila Vikas Samiti in Bokaro and so on.?
