Beggars Free Mission

Begging is a crime that has been steadily growing unnoticed and only being made more severe by our misdirected attempts at seemingly helping them through alms. Beggars’ Home is a project aimed at the complete rehabilitation and self-employment of all of the city’s beggars. Besides ridding them of their sick thinking processes, our courses will be designed to give them an identity of

One of the crises faced by India is of the Beggars, which never stops mushrooming at any corner of India. Faced with destitution, unemployment, etc begging becomes the only means of survival. Be it temples, traffic signals, these beggars are found everywhere causing chaos and discomfort to others. Children are generally used in extracting as much sympathy as well as money from the alms-giver. They are the ones who can generate empathy even among the ones, who refrain from giving it to the older beggars and get their dues.

In Mumbai city alone, one finds say upto 4.5 lac beggars spiraling all over the city. Constant vigilance, various control checks by the city police, too failed to curb the growing menace of beggar’s prolifering throughout Mumbai city. Begging is becoming nowadays, more of a profession than a crime according to the laws of our state. Generous Citizens when showing their gratitude towards these beggars monetarily, forget that they are actually encouraging the beggars to carry on with this form of survival, rather than work hard to earn that money. Moreover, begging is easier as it is less work and more money compared to those people who toil hard and get less.

A beggar seems to have lost their sense of dignity among themselves because of begging. One finds adults fit enough to do any kind of manual labour take up begging. For such beggars unable to face the hardships of life resign to their fate and beg as much to make a living. It has now become of supreme importance that these beggars be given a fresh lease of life by making them realise as to start their life afresh. For start, we can make these beggars understand their true self-worth in society. We will instill such faith in them that they can make valuable contribution towards society and give in a new direction to their demoralized self.

This burgeoning trade of illegally amassing money calls for a serious look at the problem. We are worried over the growing number of child beggars in the city, We want to create, a 24-hour help line for children in distress, along with a few activists and voluntary agencies (NGOs), and even want to launch a preventive campaign, under the campaign, informal schools and day care centres are being opened for child beggars, and picketing and poster campaigns will be carried out at main traffic squares in the city to stop people from giving alms to child beggars.

One of our projects aimed at rehabilitating the plight of deprived sections is undertaking the Governments Beggars Home, which will help us in achieving our aims. We are working on the upliftment of the Queens Road and development of Street Children in this area. We have observed that both the problems are interlinked with each other. Govt. of Maharashtra had created Beggars Home, We have enquired about the facility and found that present condition of the home is very pathetic and needs immediate attentions. We would like to provide a framework for personal development and for interaction with the outside world in a manner, which fulfils individual needs while ensuring communal cohesion and continuity.

Each one of us should feel gratitude over a better standard of living and should make useful contribution towards a cause over providing a substantial standard of living for those deprived of it. We asked the people to go to the roots of the knowledge instead of being satisfied with its fruits, which has resulted in a deep impact on them leading to self-knowledge. They began to understand that Swadhyaya makes it possible to begin the journey of self-awareness from wherever one is located. We are keen in implementing alternative development movements. We want to show them from where to begin the journey of self-awareness and self-development. We want to show them plausible way to establishing oneness of humanity because it recognizes and respects the intrinsic value of others. The knowledge given by us is not untutored, raw moral fervor and frantic activity at the expense of rationalism. The informal education system designed by us was a well thought, close to everyday experience that promotes cultural continuity, moral values and social responsibility. It shows the way to manage ego. As a technique of self-management, it is unique because it teaches from inside out rather from outside -in.

Fulora Foundation will create necessary infrastructure at the Beggars Home and will undertake the maintenance of the Beggars Home and the Beggars to be shifted there. We have tried to activate a sense of their strength by raising the consciousness of being the children of the same God through thoughts and purposive collective action for common good. It is our experience that awareness of nearness of God and reverence for that power creates reverence for self, reverence for the entire creation. And devotion as an expression of gratitude to God can turn into a social force to bring about transformative changes in all aspects of life and at all levels in the society. What comes in its way is the gulf between the haves and the have-nots and multiple disabilities from which the have-nots suffer. We always felt that though the rich and the poor possess a charitable disposition in equal measure, poor feel helpless and lose confidence in them because of unequal economic circumstances. For us the only way to overcome these problems is to build spiritual ties with fellow beings through activity-oriented devotion. It has to be a devotion that is reason based; that can advance one’s spiritual growth; that can express gratitude to God; that can help in absorbing and expanding the idea of indwelling divinity; and that such devotion has the potential to become a powerful social force.

Last 3-4 years Fulora Foundation has studied this problem of the Beggars in Mumbai City. Mumbai, being the Financial Capital of India, the beggars are the ones found to be money-earners with their wayward profession and are taking this city for a ride. One finds beggars & eunuchs at every nukkad of the city. This problem of begging could be elaborated in two parts:

Children are been used massively for the begging business Yes, it has indeed developed into a potential business in this city. This burgeoning trade of illegally amassing money calls for a serious look at the problem. We are worried over the growing number of child beggars in the city, we want to launch a preventive campaign, under the campaign, informal schools and day care centres are being opened for child beggars, and picketing and poster campaigns will be carried out at main traffic squares in the city to stop people from giving alms to the beggars.

“For the hundreds of children who beg at busy traffic junctions, it is serious business, they are being trained by Dada’s; an established entity, the beggars know exactly which brands of car to chase, how to ‘dress up’ to evoke maximum sympathy and how to fix false plasters on the legs to give the impression of being crippled. Even adults, who sometimes accompany them, are ‘suitably armed’ with crutches or small babies,” They also know the exact spots where certain organizations distribute free meals, and make it a point to be present there. Our survey revealed that child beggars earn on an average of Rs. 20 per day, half of which is given to their parents or so called DADAS. The parents knowing fully well as this mode of income is lucrative are not keen on sending them to school. They find begging more paying and less dangerous than rag picking. “We wanted to rescue these children from such a degrading environment. We want to create the anti-begging squads to pick them up with the help of the Corporation and Mumbai Police. The worst part is that the phenomenon is not direct fallout of growing unemployment and poverty. They are growing up looking at begging as easy and valid means of making money.

Adult Beggars also look at it as an easy and valid source of making money. They have formed their nexus and because of them, horrifying image of our City is being portrayed. They are even indulging in the serious nature of antisocial elements posing serious hidden threats to the citizens of Mumbai.

They categorically use infants (They are available @ rate of Rs. 2/- per hour on rent) for the begging and try to create sympathy. They feed them drugs and sedatives, which is a serious matter. We have tried to establish dialogue with them and found that some of them are into this for more than a decade. Now we feel that we should look at this matter more seriously and create an anti-begging drive with the help of “PPP” Public Private Partnership programme.

We want to shift them in the Govt. Beggars home, and want to educate them and create awareness amongst them. Each one of us should feel gratitude over a better standard of living and should make useful contribution towards a cause over providing a substantial standard of living for those deprived of it. We asked these people to rather go to the roots of the self-awareness instead of being satisfied with its fruits, which has resulted a deep impact on them leading to self-knowledge. They began to understand that self-study makes it possible to begin the journey of self-awareness from wherever one is located.

We are keen in implementing alternative development movements for the Beggars We want to show them from where to begin the journey of self-awareness and self-development. We want to show them plausible way to establishing oneness of humanity because it recognizes and respects the intrinsic value of others. The knowledge given by us is not untutored, raw moral fervor and frantic activity at the expense of rationalism. The informal education system designed by us was a well thought, close to everyday experience that promotes cultural continuity, moral values and social responsibility. It shows the way to manage ego. As a technique of selfmanagement, it is unique because it teaches from inside out rather from outside -in.

Eunuchs are the highest earners when it comes to making it top at the beggars list. Baring rest, only the eunuchs can extract as much money from the hapless giver without sympathy, if the giver is reluctant, the eunuchs are least hesitant with their dare-bare display. They easily get away citing their physical disability as one of the major reasons to take up begging. Shunned by society and people alike, the eunuchs beg. Because of their reputation, many fake as eunuchs and try the same tactics to get money. It is high time we should be able to provide employment opportunities to these eunuchs and give them no reason to beg or set an example for others as well to beg.

One of our projects aimed at rehabilitating the plight of deprived sections is undertaking the Governments Beggars Home, which will help us in achieving our aims.

Poverty, destitution, unemployment seems to find its place everywhere. We believe that it is in the cities we experience this, but the villages are far worse. With the decline of cottage industries, agriculture losing its ground, work eludes the villagers. Famine stricken farmers sell off their lands to feed themselves and their family and later come to the cities in search of work to support their family back home. They reluctantly leave their native lands and try to adjust to the adverse condition, the fast-paced cities offer to them. The ruthlessness of survival shocks them, as they were so content with leading a peaceful and slow life in their villages.

Children lured to the cities on the pretext of employment in the wake of declining work opportunities in their native land face harsh problems. Such children usually come from a poor background with four to five siblings and frail health of their parents (who look upto them) come to this city of opportunities to give their folks back home a stable sustenance. Little do they realise is that what they dream of making it in cities is mired in illusions. These children enter city through their relative or known person, who promise the unsuspecting parents of employment to their child more than enough to rid of their poverty, some even go to the extent of providing work with education. With such high hopes, children as young as seven are sent off with these men, who are just on the lookout of cheap labour. These children are made to work from dawn till midnight, little do they catch up on sleep, initially they are too shell shocked to realise as to what is going on and suffer mutely. Their silence is further aggravated violently in the form of beating, if they do a slight mistake. They are thrashed by their merciless employers of no fault of theirs; it is based more or less on the psychological aspect as these employers are meting out their frustrations (as these employers are unable to sustain the rigours of hard life in a city) on these poor children. These vulnerable beings have no choice, coz if they demand to be sent back, they are tortured more and kept locked in a room without food and drink for days. Some children are not even paid for months and their parents back home wait in anticipation that some day they will get money and their condition will improve. Nevertheless, these parents, not even in their wildest imagination could suspect that their loved ones go through such cruel circumstances. They think that they are well looked after and their education too is being taken care of. It would never occur to them the fact that their little ones are not gliding through the midst of heaven, but they are trapped in the hell. In case of unfortunate deaths of any of these children, they are either thrown in the gutter or inform them as missing to their parents. These children work so hard for their employers and they pay with their lives.

The children who are rescued from the clutches of their cruel employers are sent back home safely, but by then their traumatic experience leave them mentally scarred off for life. It becomes difficult for them to come to terms with their life and start everything anew. Most of them are terribly guilt-ridden that they failed upto the expectations of their parents and will not be able to support their parents. These children hopes are shattered of making it big in cities by such atrocities meted out on them. This is the age for them to play and have fun, but they are forced to grow up fast because of their poverty. These children exchange their toys with hammer. Their problems are never-ending and continue upto adulthood, where the cycle repeats in itself: early marriage, many siblings, acute poverty and so on. The mistake is repeated again and again. There seems to be no solace to their woes. The required balance in their lives eludes them now and then. No matter how hard they bring themselves to give a new dimension to their lives, they fall victims to their prevailing situations, which all it wants is detailed assessment. This is the only way, if they really want to better their state as well of their family.

One also finds that the children who come from villages are aptly skilled in handicrafts and are much more in demand in cities, with the fall of cottage industries in the villages, the adults are jobless and reluctant to pick up any other occupation, agriculture being one of them, therefore are forced to send their children to cities for work as these children have more takers because of their aptitude required in handicrafts. The children are easy to manage and work fast, and they are the cheapest source of labour available. Because of this reason, we find many children working in most of the industries such as glass making, carpet making, dari making, etc. The children working in the matchbox, bidi-making, and fireworks company are subjected to harmful chemicals, which has a disastrous effect on their nervous system. Despite of repeated pleas by various NGO’s and other functioning bodies to stop exposing children to such pollutants, there has been no significant change. Hundreds of children are still employed in these companies and suffer because of the callousness of the head of these companies. The companies do not realise that the children are not that susceptible to these emit tents as compared to the adults, given their frail physical state. For children, it is a slow death. A child absorbs pollutants easier than an adult and tends to retain these pollutants in his system for a longer time causing serious respirator problems.

An act of child rights passed by the government in the 80’s seems to have no effect. The ban on child labour is merely theoretical and is not being practiced. We see it flourishing day by day. There is no concerted effort required to combat it.

As per our discussions with the series of meetings with the Secretary Woman and Child Welfare Govt. of Maharashtra, Commissioner of Police Mumbai and subsequent visit to the Existing Beggars Homes as well as Kasturbha Mahila Ashram and Balakashram, we would like to propose some of our programmes, which we are keen to implement for the rehabilitation of beggars. These programmes would be finalized with the Government’s approval and would be implemented in the following manner. These are outlined below:

• There is an urgent need for providing more number of clean and stink-free toilets. We intend to provide these facilities along with the Pay & Use facilities for general public, which will enable us to generate, required revenue for day-to-day maintenance and required periodical repairs. These Toilets will be made available to the Beggars at free of cost.
• To start gymnasium and yoga activities for the beggars at the beggars home. We feel the beggars have no access to moral education, culture and values, by inculcating these beliefs; we strive to change their attitude towards life. There should be self-respect awareness within them, the need of the hour is to improve their standard of living and maintain their own dignity. A sports centre would give them a different meaning to their embittered lives, it would be a form of entertainment as well as recreation for them instead of them indulging in evil vices they practise all over the city.
• “An idle mind is a devil mind”, therefore introduction of art in the form of handicrafts and cottage industry would bring a change in them, as they will creatively utilize their resources on work. Their aesthetic work will be auctioned by us and the revenue generated from it would be used for the maintenance of the unit and further rehabilitation of the beggars. It will greatly reform their status in society. We also plan to construct certain additional facilities benefiting the beggars at the existing home.

• Create a library, medicine and blood bank centres, also encourage private doctors to organize health camps for the beggars in beggars home. With time, design continuous maintenance of these beggars, which will ultimately lead to complete rehabilitation of beggars at some other place. We also plan to implement our programmes all over Maharashtra.
• Develop a horticulture nursery. This will help female beggars to create their own fields where in they can grow vegetables required for their own requirements. We are even planning to develop a Bhojnalaya for common man and public. Additional revenue generated from this could be utilized for the food provided to the beggars at this Beggars Home, which will help us to make the beggars home activities self-sufficient. Gradually we could think to extend these facilities to other units also.
• A full-fledged counseling centre will be established to help the individuals to overcome their present situation. This will also be helpful to change their mentality in a more professional manner. As we see the beggars, when it comes to reforming their lives, they adopt a laid-back attitude and avoid being confronted with self-improvement, they are so used to their begging way of life that to work, for them becomes almost impossible, so here to counsel them, to motivate them, to become a respected part of society becomes a daunting task, this being one of the areas, we want to work hard for. These facilities could be extended to the other needy poor people also, which will ultimately reduce the possible increase in begging activities immensely.
• Introduction of Computer Education at free of Cost to them, which help us to change their mentality and try to make them as Computer literate individuals with at least hopes to get reasonable jobs in near future.

1. Organise a joint meeting with –
   • Municipal Commissioner of Greater Mumbai Mahanagar Palika
   • Police Commissioner of Brihan Mumbai Police.
   • Railway Police& GM Central and Western Railway.
   • Traffic Police
   • Secretary Law and Judiciary Govt. of Maharashtra.
2. Allow us to organize Special Fund Raising Drive to create permanent corpus for each project. We expect
   Govt’s help in the following manner –
   • Government Backing and support by the Government of Maharashtra to make this financial capital of Maharashtra completely Beggars Free.
   • Allow us to create special squad of volunteers to pick up the beggars as well as prevent the new beggars to take up begging. Give us the authority on mutually agreeable terms to prevent people aiding beggars. (This Powers could be given to us based on the powers given to the Nuisances Detectors of Municipal Corporation.) The fine charged could be deposited with the designated Bank as a Corpus for the Beggars Home.
   • Special permission to prevent children from begging by shifting them to Children Home. We intend to undertake the responsibilities of their rehabilitation.
   • Help will be required to get sponsorship’s and donors and help us to get necessary permissions to carry out our mission successfully.
   • Government of Maharashtra should also support this drive by giving an exemption in entertainment taxes.
   • Help us to arrange celebrities for the drive.

Allow us to create necessary infrastructure at these Beggars Home on BOOT basis for mutually acceptable terms so that we could even organize private long-term soft loans to create necessary infrastructure at these Institutes. (Beggars Homes, Children Homes, Mahila Ashrams etc.)

Participate in our fund raising drives, Provide adequate security arrangements, and arrange initial required funds in the form of equity or Seed Capital or Soft Loans from Sikom or KVIC. We know it is a tough task, but we require your dedicated support in our endeavour. It is our prime concern that such an act would also encourage generous donors to come forward and contribute towards the goal of Beggars free Mumbai!

We hope that you will consider our proposal and allow us to start the activities as well as organize a joint meeting at an early date.

The beggar’s home at Chembur, Mumbai-400079 started on 1 Feb. 1959 came into existence for the rehabilitation of beggars in society and advocate self-employment schemes.

The beggars home comprised of two major wings; male and female. The male wing consisted of 3 Barracks-capacity intake of which is 60 people per barrack, which is used as a remand home. A general ward, leprosy ward, tuberculosis ward for the beggars. A carpentry and broom section, sewing section, dining cum recreation hall, kitchen, vaikunth ward for the beggars for self-employment. The problems faced is lack of infrastructure, sanitation is improper, medical facilities is limited, raw material resources required for the weaving section is unavailable. The number of beggars is scarce and its number seems to increase only in the monsoons. Generally, there is 1 nurse for two wards and the frequency of doctors is less. The conditions of the male beggars are in poor state given the dearth of resources required for their self-survival.

Improper, medical facilities is limited, raw material resources required for the weaving section is unavailable. The number of beggars is scarce and its number seems to increase only in the monsoons. Generally, there is 1 nurse for two wards and the frequency of doctors is less. The conditions of the male beggars are in poor state given the dearth of resources required for their self-survival.

The female wing named as ‘NAV-JEEVAN’ has 1 barrack for its occupants, intake is 100, unlike the male fraternity, the female wing is better equipped with facilities, they are self- employed with their sewing, stitching activities and broom- making. The only flaw is requirement of proper implementation of its available resources constructively.

There are as many as 58 women, separate quarters for minor girls and major women, we identify here most of the girls as migrants serves as a rescue home for them. Vocational training is provided to the girls to make them self- employed, they are taught sewing, stitching, knitting, music and dance, are taken out for picnics as well, they were also a part of summer-camp organized by the NGO Prerna, where they were trained in personality development, self-employed courses, etc.

Grants and aid are hard to get by. A need for a hospital, more toilets and adequate space is required for the accommodation of girls brought in to the home, Transportation becomes a big hassle, as there is no proper vehicle to take the sick to a hospital, the construction of building is taking a lot of time for lack of funds.

At Mankhurd, houses more than 300 children, comprising of a school, rest room, a dining and recreation centre, the primary and the secondary section are functioning acc to Mrs. Kanitkar. Most of the children are from other parts of city, say Manmad, etc. 3 barracks houses 100 children each, out of which 2 are provided for the boys and one for the girls each. The extracurricular activities in the form of stitching, sewing, drawing, painting, craft goes on. There is also a separate library for the children. There is also a separate study room for the children, where they assemble after school and lunch.

The home for the mentally retarded people houses upto 350 people out of which they are categorized as under severe, moderate and mild cases. Despite their physical disabilities, the inmates are given training in welding, broom-making, stitching, sewing, weaving, thus ensuring them to capable of being self-employed. Each dormitory has a television installed, a cot too.

It was found that 95 children were found to be epileptic, because of which availability of medicine becomes an expensive expenditure, though the hospital is fully equipped, the doctors are few. It has a psychologist, psychiatrist, occupational therapist present once on a weekly basis. Sometimes it becomes difficult to handle the severe children, as there is only one teacher for 8 pupils working in shifts too. It takes it toll on the children kept here as 20% of them are proformed and generally it takes upto a year to understand the case, with no medical history to trace the defect, availability of vehicle is difficult as such children cant be allowed to travel normally like we do. They also cannot be left out after they have attained age, given their sensitive state.

At Mankhurd, upto 400 children until the age of 18 yrs are kept. They are also given training in carpentry, ITI after SSC and in electronics. The girls are given training in beauty parlour, housekeeping courses.

We want to take up the difficult task in different perspectives. The issue of beggars in the Mumbai Metro City is always been neglected. We have studied the problem for last 2 years and feel that we can sort out this problem by taking firm decisions. In our view, some solutions to sort out the issue are as under: –

• Create permanent facilities at the BEGGARS HOME
• Introduce professional skills with the help of Khadi & Village Ind. Commission, it will create education as well as sufficient income to rehabilitate the Beggars.
• We will create awareness and provide them adequate education, which will inculcate self-respect amongst the Beggars.
• We have developed a dialogue with the M.K Road residents for the creation of funds for this project. Eminent personalities in the Society are ready to contribute for the cause.
• We want to create Medical facilities for them.
• We will create drug abuse Mgmt. treatment & counseling centre.
• We will create HIV / Aids treatment & counseling centre.
• We want to create Educational facilities for them.
• We want to create self-employment facilities for them.
• We want to create the necessary infrastructure, which will help them in total rehabilitation of themselves.
• We will undertake to develop the necessary security arrangements at the Beggars Home, which will prevent Beggars running out from the Home.

The beggars are received in large numbers at the government beggars receiving centre and after being there for sometime, they get back to their old ways. We propose to set up a rehabilitation centre where these beggars will undergo intense counseling training, after that they will be introduced to self-employed activities, it will help them to be independent. We also intend to create FRP modular structures with the help of these beggars. Our volunteers will supervise, monitor as well as look after the maintenance of our rehabilitation programme. One volunteer will atleast look after a group of 10 people, as it is not possible for a single person to maintain thousands of to-be reformed beggars, which will further form a society and then 10 such societies will form a consortium or a group and such groups will generate adequate rehabilitated avenues. We will accord our beggars with photo-pass, registration number, introduce computerised techniques such as thumb impressions and web scanners, so that when the need arises, we can take necessary action against some beggars who normally try to change their identities, once they are scot-free.

Even if we are able to reform, say one lac beggar, it will give us enormous manpower, and this will be a tremendous boost to our flailing economy. Our country has the potential to make it to the superpower nations, all it needs is correct application of our vast resources, then only can we realise India’s potential to its fullest. The problem of large number of children being migrated into the cities is increasing day by day, a brief insight into their lives, which also form a large number of street children.

• Create a library, medicine and blood bank centres, also encourage private doctors to organize health camps for the beggars in beggars home.
• With time design continuous maintenance of these beggars which will ultimately lead to complete rehabilitation of beggars. We also plan to implement our programmes all over Maharashtra.
• Develop a horticulture nursery.
• A counseling centre will help the needy immensely.

The objective of our organization is to bring about social upliftment for the underprivileged in general and children in particular. Keeping in mind the beggars home, which is in utmost need of rehabilitation, following are the areas requiring restructuration or can be improvised.

• Planning of proper infrastructure to be implemented at beggar’s home as early as possible
• Land available for farming should be utilised rather than keeping it lying waste
• The medical facilities should be upgraded with the introduction of new equipments and medicines
• With the introduction of vocational training by our foundation would lead to self-employment at beggar’s home.
• Employment opportunities to be provided to the beggar’s home inmates through the materials made by them such as broom, towels, welding, carpentry, clothing, handicrafts, etc.
• Education is a must at beggar’s home.
• Construction of more barracks for comfortable accommodation for the ever-increasing beggars.
• The shortage of staff, be it in the medical or official department needs to be fulfilled.
• Unhygienity and insanitation calls for serious look at the problems persisting in the beggar’s home
• Insufficient supply of raw materials for the weaving, broom-making and clothing wing has led to shutdown of some of them.
• Summer-camps to be organized for the beggars, which will include horse-riding, trekking, painting, skit events, etc.

This project will help us in removal of the beggars, drug addicts and street children from the Maharshi Karve Road and other places too. We will develop the program for the upliftment of these people, which will finally lead to their independent rehabilitation at some other place with the help of our supervisors and Social workers.

We want permission to renovate the Beggars Home, Create various facilities and necessary infrastructure at Beggars Home. We will generate enough funds to fulfill the development work as well as maintenance by way of donations, soft loans, and funds through Fund Raising Drive.

Govt. should give us the charge of the beggar’s home for specific period so that we can organize the required funds. Govt. should help us in coordinating with the Police as well as with the Municipal Corporation to help us to shift them in to the Beggars Home. Govt. should also provide Police protection at the Beggars home for the initial period so that we will able to manage these Beggars and this will prevent Beggars from becoming violent.