St.Xavier's
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ABOUT US
St Xavier’s Children’s Home with Reception Unit at Varadarajapuram, Namakkal caters to the care, protection, education and rehabilitation of the infected HIV girl children and the Victim girls of Sexual abuse in the district of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, India. It is duly registered under Juvenile Justice Act-2015, with the maximum capacity of 50 inmates by the Government of Tamil Nadu (S.No.1645/DSD/2022) and not state funded. This Home cares, protects the girl children with the day-to-day needs, boarding and lodging, school education, counselling, soft skills, children entrepreneurship, medical expenses and higher education.
Our Origin
St. Xavier’s Charitable Society is the mother unit of St Xavier’s Children’s Home with Reception Unit. This charitable society is founded to address the victims of HIV/AIDS as Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India stood high in 2005 with the number of HIV/AIDS patients. As the number of child marriages and the victim girls of sexual abuse increased since 2018, this non-profit organization responded to the needs of the time and initiated Reception Unit to foster a healthy society. This non-profit organization is duly registered by the Government of Tamil Nadu (R.No. 47/2008) with seven society members with the motto “to build up the lives of the Victim Girl Children.”
Our Target Group
The target groups of the institute are HIV infected girl children, victim girls of child sexual abuse, child marriage and victims of in the district of Namakkal. This society had been caring, protecting the girl children with the day-to-day needs, boarding and lodging, school education, soft skills, children entrepreneurship, medical needs and higher education. This society has been administered actively by the President, Secretary, Treasurer and the members of the society since 2005 with the periodical meetings, input sessions by the professionals etc. The Children’s Home with Reception Unit is administered by the Director, Secretary, and Treasurer, two Councilors, three wardens, two cooks, a driver, a sanitary worker and a watchman. Thus, this Home is proficient in its catering to the needs of the society while being yeoman in its purpose and administration.
Towards A Healthy and Inclusive Society
Namakkal district lives on Transport Industry such as body building for the vehicles and transporting poultry products. As this city is the hub of transport, a few of the transporting personnel involve themselves in immoral activities. This results in the wide spread of HIV virus. As parents are infected by HIV, their wards are infected and affected as well. Hence the infected children and the affected children live with mal-nutritious lives and the children die at an early age. Thus, it is an important and noble effort to work for these unfortunate children.
The number of child marriages and the victim girls of sexual abuse increased as a result of covid19 curfews. Amidst numerous conscientizing efforts of the Tamil Nadu Government, the parents feel the urge to give their girl children in marriage as part of their parental responsibilities towards their wards, thus, resulting in child marriages and teenage pregnancies. Children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, orphaned, abandoned and destitute, child labourders, abused and differently-abled children do need care and protection. If they are not protected in the Homes, they would be vulnerable before the sexual offenders and perpetrators of this abuse, for the offenders attempt to erase evidence of crime against girl children and at times attempt to murder the victims. We as the conscience of the society did feel the need to give them care, protection, formal education, training in soft skills, in children entrepreneurship and higher education.
Specific Outcome of Our Service
Primarily, St. Xavier’s Children’s Home with the Reception Unit ensures that the children enjoy their rights; right to live, right to grow, right to be protected and right to be educated. Our Home basically protects the victims from the offenders. It gives them boarding and lodging, offering them a healthy and nutritious food. It heals the wounds of the traumatic incidents of sexual assault by the counselling professionals through numerous counselling sessions. We help them reassume their formal school education as normal children do. As we train them with soft skills and children entrepreneurship programmes as part of their economic sustenance, they are ready to earn for themselves and win their bread as they leave this Home on completing 18 years of age. They are taught yoga, meditation and moral values that they foster a moral and healthy society as they leave this Home. On the whole, we strive to foster a healthy and inclusive society. Over a period of 12 months (June 2021- May 2022), 300 victim girls benefitted out of this programme and we prevented over 200 child marriages.
Description of Our Activities
The process of opting to admit or discharge a victim girl to our Home is undertaken by Child Welfare Committee of Namakkal District, who intern is aided by Child Line, District Child Protection Office , the Police of Namakkal District or any laity. The child is admitted into our Home with the order of CWC. From the time of admission to the time of discharge the child comes under the supervision of the Home authority. The victims are provided with a well-built residence with the plinth area of 5000sq feet with the first floor. The good ambience gives them solace and comfort; food, medical care, clothes and accommodation are provided.
On reception of a child, professional councillor counsels the child through many sittings, thus healing takes place. Medical camp is conducted every fortnight to ensure their physical health. We transport the inmates to the Child Welfare Committee , to the District Child Protection Office , to the Court of Law, judicial enquiries, medical examinations and to the formal schools that the victims are lawfully advocated towards justice and they enjoy their right to education.
Candidates with the permanent order to stay until the completion of 18 years of age are admitted to formal schools at Erumapatti which is 5 km away from the Home. Basic computing knowledge is imparted to the inmates by a computer teacher. Tailoring is taught that they may learn to live on their own as they leave Home for good.
