Success Stories

Second Story

Finding Home After 13 Years

"The story is about a young boy who had been missing from his family for thirteen long years and was finally able to find his way back home and reunite with his loved ones."

Name: Nagarajan

Age : 21 Years

Gender : Male

Organization : Don Bosco Summanahalli, Bangalore

Nagarajan stayed in foster care for 2 years where he completed his education up to 6th grade, and was promoted to the next class, but one day he ran away with a friend. After 4 years, he was traced and placed in Tumkur Child Welfare Committee and then transferred to BOSCO Yuvakendra in January 2018. He received vocational training at BOSCO Life Skill Training Centre at Sumanahalli and was trained to become a motorbike mechanic.

Nagarajan, desiring to reconnect with his family, requested help from Fr. Joshy Puthur, Director of BOSCO Sumanahalli, in tracing his family. Fr. Puthur asked Mr. Bheemappa, the night shelter In-charge, to assist him in this endeavor. Together, Nagarajan and Mr. Bheemappa set out to trace Nagarajan's village which he had only a partial recollection of, believing it to be near Bannerghatta where his brother was said to reside. They journeyed for a considerable time but upon reaching Bannerghatta, could not find anyone from his family.

Without giving up, Mr. Bheemappa approached the local residents and started inquiring them. Soon his persistence paid off. He met Ms Rathna, an old friend of Nagarajan’s mother.The lady shared details related to Nagrajan’s native place and district. With this new information, Mr Bheemappa went to Nagarajan’s native place and meet his uncle. This was a breakthrough in their search and gave them renewed hope of finding Nagarajan's family. The news filled Nagarajan with a mix of emotions; hope, anxiety, and fear.

Soon Nagarajan along with Mr. Bheemappa visited his uncle’s placein March 2022. It was a moment of great joy and relief for Nagarajan as he was finally reunited with his family after 13 long years of separation. He was overjoyed to see his uncle and other relatives, but at the same time, he was also saddened to know that his mother had passed away due to tuberculosis when he was only five years old. The reunion with his family was a bittersweet experience for him..

Third Story

Finding Home After Pandemic "Two brothers, missing since two years got reunited with family after Covid-19."

Name: Vivek

Vivek and Dinesh are two brothers who got separated from their family in Nainital, Uttarakhand.Unfortunately, they ended up in Delhi in February 2020, just before the nationwide lockdown.Due to lack of contact details of the family, the brothers were rescued by the Delhi police near a school in Dwarka and provided with shelter at Don Bosco Ashalayam, Delhi by the order of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). Despite constant efforts by the staff at Don Bosco Ashalayam, it took almost two months to find and reach out to the family.

Despite being contacted by Ms Chandani, due to the ongoing lockdown, the parents were unable to travel to Delhi to take custody of their children. As a result, the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) directed that the brothers be escorted to their home in Uttrakhand by Don Bosco Childline Southwest. In preparation for the trip, Childline made all necessary arrangements, including arranging transportation but due to strict lockdown guidelines all attempts failed.

It took almost 2 years for the Don Bosco Childline team to reunite the brothers with their family due to lockdown restrictions. Finally, on July 7th, 2021 the brothers were successfully reuniting with the family under the direction of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

After a long and emotional reunion with their parents and other family members, the brothers were finally able to return home and meet their loved ones. The joy and happiness of being back with their family was evident on their faces.

They are now able to attend school and continue their education. This reunion has brought immense joy and happiness not just to the children but also to their entire families.

Fourth Story

The Ugly Face of Street Life

"Story of a boy on the streets of Delhi and his journey to find home"

Name: Sonu

Age : 16 Years

Gender : Male

Organization : Don Bosco Ashayalam, Delhi

Sonu is sixteen years old, from Jaipur, India, who lost his parents while traveling from Jaipur to Himachal Pradesh for attending a marriage ceremony. Despite searching everywhere he failed to reach out to his parents. 4 years passed by, Sonu started wandering on streets of Delhi. Pleading for food and shelter was his everyday struggle. One day while wondering on streets he came across a transgender person who offered him shelter and food.

Sonu thought that his life will be easy now, less did he know that his happiness was short lived. Days passed by and the ill-treatment by the transgender began. He was phically abused, treated badly and not just that he was also asked to become like a transgender andwas forced to remove his genital parts to become transgender.

Unable to handle the abuse, the scared and anxious Sonu decided to run away from the hell-like place where he was locked up and kept. Back to the streets of Delhi. This time Sonu was caught by Delhi Police. He was brought to Don Bosco Ashalayam, New Delhi

It was heart breaking to see that by this time Sonu was physically and mentally abused. Unable to think, behave or talk. Medical checkup proved he was in depression. Unable to take care of himself, Don Bosco Ashalayam took the initiative to take care of him.

Don Bosco Ashalayam left no stone unturned to re-unite this lost child back to his parents. Certainly, it was tough to find out about his family details as the child was not mentally stable. Time passed by, continuous efforts, counseling, psychological and medical care, love started healing the child.

During one of his counselling sessions, Sonu started scratching something on the drawing paper. When his writing was seriously analyzed, the staff found the name of a school and the word 'Jaipur'. With the help of technology, the details of school and family was found. Excited with the clue Mr. Madan and Mr. Promod along with Jaipur Police and the team of Don Bosco Ashalaym, Delhi reunited the child with his family overcoming all hurdels.

Today Sonu is undergoing treatment, and there is an improvement in his physical and mental health. His parents are taking good care of him, and at present, he staying at "his" home.

Fifth Story

Snehalaya, My Home

"Story of a boy who came out of child labor and choose education"

Name: Akabar

Age : 24 Years

Gender : Male

Organization : Don Bosco Snehalaya, Vadodara

Akabar was from a small village Kevale in Bihar. He had three elder brothers and one elder sister. Unfortunately, when he was just a few months old, his parents and elder brother passed away. His other two elder brothers worked as farm laborers in the village. Soon in search of better job opportunity, they decided to move to Delhi.

In Delhi, Akabar was placed in a family as a domestic laborer. He worked there for four to five months. Then, the family sent him to Mumbai to look after their relative’s children. He stayed there for about two years with that family. One day he ran away from there and reached Dadar railway station in Mumbai.

He worked for about five months at Dadar railway station as a vendor. One day, he left the station and found his way to the Don Bosco Shelter Home in Wadala, Mumbai. Where he was helped to enroll in 1st standard for education. Time passed by and it was already 3 years. Suddenly one day he ran away from the shelter home with a boy and reached Don Bosco Snehalaya in Vadodara, Gujarat.

After a few days, he was sent to Don Bosco Snehalaya Children's Home in Kapadwanj Kheda, Gujarat. He stayed there for one year but did not like it and ran away, returning to Don Bosco Snehalaya, Vadodara. He got admission in 7th standard in a corporate school according to his age. There he decided to learn properly for a better future, and Don Bosco Snehalaya helped him along the way. He passed his matriculation and intermediate with good marks in the commerce stream. After that, he got admission to

St. Xavier’s College in CTS, Mumbai. And currently, he is pursuing his second year of B. Comand also working as a staff in Don Bosco Snehalaya, Vadodara. Today he has a home. A home that welcomed him with open hands.