How we work: Family reintegration
All over the world, children are spending time alone, away from home. Through our family work, we help strengthen relationships and address the reasons for the separation so children can grow up in a safe, nurturing environment.
From separation to reintegration
When we identify a vulnerable child in and around a transport hub, our first priority is to reunite them with their family – as long as it’s safe to do so.
To ensure the young person’s long-term wellbeing, we provide comprehensive support focused on addressing the disfunction and improving family dynamics.
By addressing the root causes that led a child to leave home, we aim to prevent them from returning to the streets.
Across India, Tanzania and the UK, we address children and families’ individual needs and experiences through:
- 1-2-1 sessions with young people
- Therapeutic family sessions
- Parenting classes
- Community support
In the last year…
1065
children in India who had been lost were rescued and safely reunited with their parents.
186
young people and their families in the UK were supported to build brighter futures together.
400
families in Tanzania recieved the care they needed to provide secure futures for their children.
Family support in the UK
When children feel more able to confide in their parents, they’re less likely to feel unsupported and be drawn into risky activities outside home.
In addition to 1-2-1 sessions, our youth practitioners in the UK provide crucial emotional and practical support to young people’s families when required.
By facilitating open communication between young people and their carers, they help them talk through their issues and create deeper bonds.
The goal is to find effective solutions that allow them to begin rebuilding their relationships and create a more positive family dynamic.
Building emotional and practical tools
Family workers in India and Tanzania conduct sessions with families at risk of separation to strengthen relationships between children and their families. These sessions are designed to improve emotional wellbeing and foster a stable and supportive environment at home.
Beyond emotional support, the sessions also focus on practical skills. It’s about helping parents understand the vital importance of keeping their children in education and guide them in adopting healthier parenting styles and more constructive methods of discipline.
Railway Children India work hand-in-hand with child protection units and local committees to address the challenges that led to separation by:
- Connecting parents with local networks to help them find stable employment, helping them to better provide for their children.
- Running sessions to equip parents with positive parenting skills, fostering nurturing environments.
- Staying involved until they are absolutely confident that a child is in a nurturing, stable environment and is settled into education.
The Active Parenting Programme in Tanzania empowers parents with the skills they need to create secure and stable homes, to reduce the risk of their children running away.
The programme focuses on enhancing parenting skills and breaking generational cycles of abuse.
Family-based care
Growing up in a supportive environment significantly reduces the likelihood of children running away, even in difficult circumstances.
So when it’s not possible to reunite children with their families immediately, we always aim to place them in alternative family-based care, so they can stay in a loving home where they can heal from what they’ve been through.
In Tanzania, we support the Fit Persons programme, which allows vulnerable children to live with a trained volunteer carer. Since Fit Persons are not paid, we support them with care packages and check up on children to ensure it’s a good fit for them.
Safara’s story
10-year-old Safara* was sent to carry out domestic work in Dar es Salaam to earn money to support her family.
But during the long bus journey from Mwanza, Safara lost the contact information for her employer and had no idea where to go.
Thankfully, she was found by the police, who took her to our Child Support Desk at Dar es Salaam’s bus station.
Safara was placed in a safe, loving, family environment with a Fit Person while we spent time supporting Safara’s grandmother to understand the importance of her granddaughter living at home and attending school.
Find out more
*Names changed and models used to protect identities.
