The Hindu : Front Page : Website to track missing children launched

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 10, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Website to track missing children launched

Parents can post photograph of missing child on the website

ONLINE SEARCH: The website launched by Don Bosco National Forum for Youth at Risk, in association with UNICEF, for tracking missing children.

Anasuya Menon

COIMBATORE: Anyone who has lost their child can post a message on this website and a search will be set in motion simultaneously in 40 cities in the country.

Launched by Don Bosco National Forum for Youth at Risk in association with UNICEF, www.missingchildsearch.net will be closely watched and monitored by child welfare organisations in all major cities in the country and a search will be generated immediately. The Don Bosco National Forum for Youth at Risk is a major partner of Childline India Foundation and extends service to hundreds of children who are victims of war, conflict, natural calamities, sexual exploitation, trafficking and HIV/AIDS. They also take care of street and working children.

Details

Parents or guardians can post the photograph of the missing child on the website along with the child's details and their contact address and number. Children who run away from home usually tend to get away to bigger cities such as Mumbai or Bangalore, John Dharman, Director of Don Bosco Anbu Illam, Coimbatore said.

Pilot project

"This is a pilot project that will strengthen centres working for children at risk," he added. The moment a centre gets details of a missing child, it would contact the person who has reported the case on the website.

Information

The child would be tracked and integrated with its family. Any child welfare organisation in any part of the country could become a member of this website.

"We have also requested police stations to give us information on the cases of missing children received," Fr. John said.

Opportunity

This would be uploaded on the website so that anyone who had information about the child could get in touch with its guardians.

"This website will bring together various child rights organisations giving them an opportunity to work together," he said. Along with the staff of the child welfare organisations, five peer volunteers would also be stationed in each important city. These peer volunteers are those who have been street children or juvenile delinquents themselves and have been rehabilitated.

They would be able to approach the runaway children more easily as they have been in similar situations themselves and so would understand the children's problems better, Fr. John said.

Through posters and SMS, the website would be popularised among the public.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page