Today people talk about street children and child labourers like they never did thirty years ago. The Corporation of Cochin and the Don Bosco Welfare Center Society focused on this issue 46 years ago and the result is Sneha Bhavan. 46 years of partnership for the cause of the disadvantaged children is something very rare and unique in our country. Back in 1974, we had ventured on the road less travelled by most others. Over the last many years, thousands of children at risk have slid back into the mainstream society crafting identities and a respectable social niche, successfully discarding their painful past. Sustaining the quality and sanctity of a home, Sneha Bhavan has grown both as a work and as a network.
Currently we have seven different centers in Cochin, Kerala for the rescue and rehabilitation of children in need of care and protection. It has become the locus for the commitment, involvement and participation of many men and women. In the process, the children for whom the home exists have been the gainers. They feel wanted, better loved, cared for, educated, trained and rehabilitated. Many families think about this home when they have a celebration at home. Thanks to the part and participation of the Cochin Corporation, the Don Bosco Society, corporates, clubs, Trusts, volunteers, social workers, friends and well wishers.
We need many more works and networks for children worldwide to improve the quality of their lives and systems to build up a public consciousness and a political will that is favourable to children in difficult situations.
Inspired by Don Bosco and challenged by marginalization, we will strive by our attitudes, way of life and actions, to empower children and young at-risk in order to create a child friendly society by networking with likeminded individuals and groups.
To reach out to the children on the street and young at-risk, to rescue them, to heal the brokenness in their lives, to inspire and support them towards a new life, to accompany them back to the mainstream society and catalyzing for the best interest of children is the mission of Don Bosco Sneha Bhavan
The objectives of the project are: