A field study conducted by Generation Yuvaa, a social service organisation for rehabilitation of child beggars, a couple of years ago highlighted some startling facts. In Visakhapatnam district (Anakapalle to Tagarapuvalasa), there were approximately 450 to 500 child beggars. The study brought to light another alarming figure – the ratio of girl beggars to the boy beggars was 1:1.
Since then, Generation Yuvaa has been relentlessly working towards the ultimate goal of eradicating child beggars from the city of Visakhapatnam and replacing begging bowls with books in their hands. Eight years after it was founded by a team of socially conscious youngsters, Generation Yuvaa took the next step towards their mission by inaugurating its second rehabilitation home for child beggars at MVP Colony on Saturday. The new centre will give shelter and education to 50 boys hailing from families of beggars in the city.
The efforts of the NGO have been successful in drastically reducing the number of child beggars over the years and now many government departments, including the police and labour departments, are assisting them in the rescue and rehabilitation of children. Generation Yuvaa’s first rehabilitation home at Marripalem is a home for 93 children. Some 43 of them are sent for schooling to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and the rest are undergoing counselling process at the home.
“Today, we have been able to bring most of the child beggars from the city limits to our rehabilitation home and working towards their holistic development,” said founder president of Generation Yuvaa, B. Naresh Kumar, a B.Tech graduate. Many families who are involved in begging in some areas are the migrated ones from places like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and operate in a complex nexus.
