The one who guides and mentors

The word Praajak means charioteer, the one who guides and mentors. Praajak are enablers for the young people and the communities they work with to move ahead and forge their own paths to empowerment. Their work focuses on child protection issues such as unsafe migration, child trafficking, child sexual abuse, early and forced marriages and child work and labour.

Praajak support children who are living on the railways in India, by offering them a different environment in which to learn, play and build skills for their future. They also help to reunite children with their families and to prevent children from leaving home in the first place by working with local communities and linking vulnerable families with government support schemes.

Approach

Praajak work collectively with children and youth, the communities they live in, the government and other organisations to create a caring and protective environment for all children. They use a rights-based approach to support vulnerable children and youth to use their individual potential and agency.

A key focus of Praajak’s work is addressing gender equity and promoting a society free of gender discrimination by working extensively with boys and young men. The objective is to create a nucleus of volunteers who initiate conversations on gender at the family level, challenging notions of masculinity. As they gain experience and grow in confidence, they are supported in forming community action groups to take action on gender-based violations in their communities.

Source : familyforeverychild.org