SANLAAP is a development organisation, an NGO in West Bengal, India focusing on Counter Trafficking Initiatives for the most vulnerable – namely women and children. Other than {and because of its uni-focal and grass root intervention} its work in West Bengal, SANLAAP is an important policy-influencing organisation in the South Asian region. It is also one of the first organisations in the Region to holistically approach the issue of Trafficking in persons and works on a range of activities as a part of its Counter Trafficking Measures – from Campaign, Advocacy, and Sensitisation of various stakeholders on the issue of trafficking, to the Rescue, Rehabilitation, and socio-economic Reintegration of trafficked persons. Sanlaap’s Child Protection initiatives in the early 90’s had a single focus / target group, i.e. CHILDREN BORN IN THE RED LIGHT AREAS. Initially the programme was community based while a need was felt for institutional care too and thus the first shelter home for vulnerable girl children from the RLA’s was established in 1992 and since then this programme is continuing successfully. At the end of 1995, a different need was felt; it was learning from the process. The idea of a holistic approach started being discussed. The significant event was rescue of minor girls from forced prostitution in other states of India by the police, who were produced before the judiciary for restoration. The system was not at all encouraging. In many cases the children were handed over to fake parents and were re-trafficked. As a recognized institution under the Juvenile Justice Act Sanlaap started conducting Family Identification and restoration of these girls. A need was felt to reach the source areas, learn the trends of migration and trafficking and implement an effective prevention programme. Since 2000 Sanlaap directly worked in two districts of West Bengal (South & North 24 Parganas) through some motivated individuals, who were trained by Sanlaap. However a need was felt to reach the places where each girl was restored. From our restoration records 9 districts were identified, the two 24 Parganas, Nadia & Murshidabad in South Bengal and Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar & Darjeeling in North Bengal. While choosing the intervention areas we had kept in mind the Indo Bangladesh and Indo Nepal borders and specific vulnerable areas like NJP Railway Station a, RLA’s of Murshidabad, Island of Bhootni in Malda, Tea Gardens of Jalpaiguri & Darjeeling, Tribal Forest villages of Alipurduar, border entry points of Bangladesh, Bhutan & Nepal. Sanlaap has also felt the need of working through partner organizations as they have the reach to those vulnerable communities and areas and above all they are already involved in exchanging dialogues on different social issues within the communities, as Sanlaap never wanted to extend any direct intervention in the districts keeping in mind its own strengths and weaknesses, existing commitments and for not having enough information about the community and the areas. Sanlaap also wanted to build up capacities of district based NGOs to sustain the programme in future. In SANLAAP’s 25 years of existence it has received numerous accolades and recommendations. It has received the National Award for Child Welfare from the President of India, in 1997, National Commission for women, in 2002 and several such recognitions, but its work is nowhere near finished. It still faces the daily struggle of trying to prevent trafficking and to stop further victimization of vulnerable women and children.
