Studies from humanitarian groups suggest that more than 7,200 children, including infants, are raped every year. Sexual abuse is just one of many atrocities children face in India as many are also subject to physical abuse, emotional abuse, neglect and child trafficking.

As a result of rampant poverty and abuse, many poor youth in India face psychological and emotional difficulties. Often, parents are unable to deal with these problems at home and so they turn to school staff and teachers for extra support.

Don Bosco’s Prafulta Psychological Services was started in 1998 and is located on the campus of the Salesian St. Dominic Savio High School in Mumbai, India. Services include the promotion of emotional well-being through psychological evaluation and diagnosis, professional counseling, career guidance, remedial education, psychiatric services and occupational therapy. Psychologists and other professionals offer assistance to individuals, groups and families to help aid independent functioning and improve quality of life.

In addition, Prafulta offers training and coursework for professionals, including teachers, to advance their skills in helping youth and their families in a school setting. A Basic Skills in Counseling for Teachers training program provides 100 hours of training and helps teachers learn the skills to handle basic emotional and developmental issues in their students.

The Don Bosco Teacher Training Program in Remedial Education, which begins in May 2014, aims to empower teachers, school counselors and parents with information and the know-how to effectively help children with varying needs and disabilities in mainstream schools. For more advanced training, Prafulta offers a certificate course in educational counseling, enabling practitioners to understand children’s difficulties in both educational and emotional areas.

“Teachers have more to deal with in their classrooms than educating students in math and science,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco. “Many of the youth who attend Salesian schools come from challenging backgrounds that often cause education to come second. Prafulta Psychological Services helps teachers prepare for these challenges and helps youth and families cope by improving a student’s educational outcome and emotional well-being.”

Recently, Prafulta launched its first free mental health outreach program for school children and parents. More than 2,000 youth and their parents attended free outreach events and 20 mental health workshops led by Prafulta’s trained counselors, held in both Hindi and English.

Topics included peer pressure, handling difficult emotions and issues around social networking and parents were given education and resources about raising emotionally healthy children.

“If these life skills or coping skills are given at the appropriate time to teenagers, many problems they would otherwise face later can be averted,” said a Prafulta counselor in a recent Mumbai Mirror article about the outreach efforts. He added, “Through the workshops, youth and families can become aware that they may need help and realize that help is available.”

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Sources:

Don Bosco’s Prafulta Psychological Services

Mumbai Mirror – Mental health outreach for school kids, parents

World Bank – India

The post INDIA: Salesian-run Don Bosco’s Prafulta Psychological Services Helps Youth with Emotional Well-Being first appeared on MissionNewswire.

In January 2014, in response to the overwhelming need to protect young children in the country, the management and staff of a Salesian School in Alaknanda, in the Province of New Delhi, adopted specific policies and procedures for the protection of children in their care. The Salesian Policies for the Protection of the Child, 2014, states that the entire Salesian school community shares a responsibility and a sense of duty in caring for the needs of the young and helping them to reach their potential so that they may enjoy life to its fullest.

The policy document offers guidelines and procedures for child protection in the Salesian Provinces of India and addresses a standard of behavior for all the provinces, provincial superiors, institutions, members of the Salesian Society and staff members, associates and visitors in Salesian institutions. The policy focuses on six key priority areas for children in their care: survival, health and nutrition; education and development; protection; participation; environment; and advocacy and networking.

“This Child Protection Policy will help to eliminate vigilantly all risks of child exploitation and abuse in all our services,” wrote Father Maria Arokiam Kanaga, the Regional Councilor of the Salesians for South Asia in the foreword of the policy. “Don Bosco Child Protection Policy – India is a sign of our unwavering commitment to serving the young in our land. While we are far from perfect, we still stand tall as pioneer educators in the society with passionate commitment to the protection and safety of children. Don Bosco’s entire system of assistance is a framework of constructive presence among the young, involving also rules and regulations, meant to protect and promote children in our institutions. This document is therefore in keeping with our century-long traditions in this field.”

In order to educate Salesians staff about these new policies, staff at the Salesian School in Alaknanda attended a seminar given by Father Babu Varghese, rector and dean, on the importance and necessity of the protection of minors. He provided an overview of the different kinds of abuse and spoke about the gravity of such criminal acts and their implications in the context of human rights violations. Father Varghese also reviewed the new policy document and reiterated the importance of educating children about their rights and standing together as a community to oppose criminal acts.

“Caring and protecting children in our care is not just a responsibility, it is a priority and a concrete expression of our wholehearted commitment to the welfare, protection and empowerment of the children in our care,” concluded Fr. Varghese at the end of the seminar.

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PHOTO courtesy of Don Bosco India

Sources:

Don Bosco India – Salesians in India take a Giant step for Child Protection

The post INDIA: Salesians in India Adopt Child Protection Policies to Protect Vulnerable Youth first appeared on MissionNewswire.