Salaam Baalak Trust

Last week we took our students on a guided tour led by former homeless children in Old Delhi. Our guides carefully navigated us through back alleys and garbage-strewn streets to eventually end in a shelter housing 60 boys from age 6-16, who were previously living on the streets of Delhi. This is the charitable work by the Salaat Baalak Trust.

Tour guides: Former street children

One of our guides told us his life story in graphic detail. He had lived in a small Indian village with his abusive father, mother and siblings. His father beat him often and eventually killed his mother through a beating. Satyendar ran away from home at the age of 12. He locked himself in a stinking toilet on a train headed for Delhi. He ended up living at the Old Delhi train station where sleazy men tried to lure him into illegal propositions. He was near the point of committing suicide when a woman dressed in a colorful sari approached him. She was wearing a badge that said, "Salaam Baalak Trust". He decided to take a chance and go with her. He is now about 20 years old (he does not have a birth certificate and therefore does not know his birthday) and is anxiously awaiting his test results to get into a tech college in the U.S.

Walking the back alleys

Typical wiring. No wonder I lose electricity once in awhile!

Hindi gods on concrete wall...why?

Hindi gods are placed strategically on walls to prevent men from urinating on the walls. If there is no god on the wall, it is free territory for urinating!

Rockin' out

When we arrived to the shelter the boys were trying out some new dance moves. Our boys joined right in.

 

Doing art together

We brought an art project to do with the kids. We'll be making greeting cards to sell as a fund raiser for the Trust. SBT uses creative arts to help these kids break down their hard and distrustful shells. We were delighted to share our project with the boys. They loved it!

Although few of the boys could speak English, this joint art project brought lots of smiles and hugs.

 It was a stifling hot day and the 60 boys packed into two bare rooms with  no furniture was unbelievable. Still, they had huge smiles and took joy in our time with them.
  
Most of the boys living in the shelter will only be there for 6-12 months until they can be placed in more permanent shelters. Some of the boys will be returned to their families, if safe and appropriate. It is estimated that over 11 million children in India are living on the streets.

At the end of our tour with Satyendar, he proudly stated that because of SBT every day is his birthday... because he is alive.

For more information about the Salaam Baalak Trust go to their website: www.salaambaalaktrust.com