Society for Children (Soch)

Society for Children (Soch) works in the field of Child Rescue and Resettlement project to rescue and resettle runaway, missing, abducted and abandoned children. The NGO’s vision is to create a society, where all children are living happily, enjoying all their due rights.

Major Interventions:

Project Rakshyak operates as ‘the protector’ of those children who run away from their homes, get separated from their families, or are abandoned, abducted, or trafficked for illegal activities at major railway stations in Odisha. The goal is to protect these children by identifying the key locations of movement, secure the child and move ahead for reunion with their families, or by settling the child in a safer environment guided by the Juvenile Justice System of the government. The purpose of this project is to prevent and reduce the risk of violence, abuse, deprivation, neglect and exploitation of these defenceless children.

Project Punarjivan refers to “REBIRTH” a platform for behavioural modification of children and equips them with all the tools and information they need for a better life. Victims of substance addiction, beggary, child trafficking, and child labour are treated with the guidance of professional teachers who follow a structured and planned daily schedule that brings a change in their behaviour and attitude, along with gaining necessary life-skills. It involves hard behaviour children (who are addicted to substances) in a 3 week De-addiction cum Behaviour modification camp as well as a 12 week Education bridge residential camp for the school dropout children at our Rehabilitation centre. Activities like yoga, meditation, experience sharing, games, computer training etc. are also conducted. At the end of the camp, most of the children are reunited with their families and others are referred to various child care institutions for long term care and protection.

Project Pankh primarily focuses on the adolescents and youths above 18 years of age who are orphans or semi orphans staying in Child Care Institutions or belong to poor and difficult family background, facing difficulties in choosing their career. The project aims to provide counselling, mentoring, life skill building training and facilitating vocational training of their interests with job placement and follow up support. It instils a sense of responsibility to make them dutiful citizens and self-sufficient adults.

The NGO is also engaged in child cantered community development and disaster response.