Ensuring we were there for Amina
When poverty forced Amina to travel far from home and into an exploitative situation, we were there to keep her safe.
Meet Amina
With her mum struggling to bring home enough money, some days there simply wasn’t enough for 14-year-old Amina* and her siblings to eat.
So when someone offered Amina work as a domestic help in the city, she took it – planning to earn enough to send some money home to her family.
But when Amina arrived at a busy bus terminal in Tanzania’s capital, Dar es Salaam, no-one was there to meet her. And, as time went by, alone in a strange city with no money and nowhere to go, Amina grew increasingly scared.
How training for transport staff kept Amina safe
Thankfully, transport staff at the bus terminal had been trained by Railway Children on how to spot and support vulnerable children.
Noticing Amina on her own, a taxi driver who had completed our training, brought her to the Social Welfare Desk inside the terminal.
After meeting Amina’s immediate needs, staff at the Social Welfare Desk contacted our outreach workers who, after confirming with Amina that she wanted to return to her family, helped her get home.
Reaching children before exploitation can
Back home, discovering she enjoyed sewing, family workers helped Amina enrol on a tailoring course. Meanwhile, they supported Amina’s mum to develop her small business to sell vegetables and fresh fish.
Today Amina and her family have a stable income, enough to eat and are building a safer, more secure future.
But, across India, Tanzania and the UK, many other vulnerable children, like Amina, are at risk.
Through being at transport hubs and training transport staff to spot signs of exploitation, we can help keep more children seen, safe and supported.
Will you help us keep more vulnerable children, like Amina, safe?
£50 helps fund a Social Welfare Desk in a bus terminal in Tanzania for a month – giving vulnerable children somewhere safe to go.
*Name changed and model used to protect identity. Amina’s story reflects real situations experienced by children we support. Donations will be used wherever the need is greatest across India, Tanzania and the UK.
