Sanjog’s Interventions

Child Protection and Child Right Governance Dastageer Legal Aid Center - Sanjog Drug Rehabilitation Center for Juveniles and Young Adults in District Jail, Lahore Legal aid to children in Karachi Legal aid to children in District Jail, Lahore Legal aid to children in Quetta Protection and Socio economic rehabilitation of street working and living children Children accompanying their mother in the jail Madadgaar Helpline Sanjog Theatre Imtizaj Coordination Office Hazara Town and surroundings (Hazara ethnic minority) Basti Panchyte (Christian minority) Sirki Kalan (Hindu minority)

Legal aid to children in Karachi (2007 - 2013)

Sanjog under Legal Aid Program had been working in Youthful Offender Industrial School (age 15-18 year) and Remand Home (below 15 year), Karachi for providing legal aid to children in detention. Sanjog’s in house lawyers as well as pro-bono lawyers visit jails and identify children who need legal aid because either the family is unaware of the child’s detention or the family is not in a position to afford a lawyer for getting their child out of the jail. Sanjog after taking up the case pursues the case in the court(s) till the case is disposed off by the court.

Psychologist of Sanjog work with the child by providing them counseling inside the jails in form of individual counseling sessions similarly group counseling sessions are provided to tackle the issues in form of a group. Female psychologists visits the home of the children before and after the child’s release from the jail for providing family counseling to the family for working out the issues which forced the child in committing an offence.

In most cases the children in detention are either living on the street or working on the street in order to survive. Sanjog is aware of the dynamics of streets of Pakistan and reunifies the children once they are released from jails resulting from bail or after the ending of case. Social worker traces the family once the case is taken up for legal aid by Sanjog. Social worker and psychologist follow up on each child from minimum of 3 to 6 months depending on the circumstance of each case.

Released children are provided vocational/ technical skill in order to empower them socio-economically and for improving their standard of living. Children are enrolled in partner government or private skill institutions for learning skills as these institutes provide relaxed rules for admission of these children. This project was financially supported by Groupe Developpement.