After a long struggle, while staying in our temporary shelter home, a trafficking survivor from Uzbekistan finally went back home on the 4th of october, 2023. With bittersweet moments in her heart, she waved goodbye to our Senior Programme Manager, Smriti Kana Ghosh Paul, and our Counsellor, Poonam Choudhary, who were there with her through the thick and thin of her journey to go back to her homeland, as well as to all the members of STOP, who gave her constant motivation and encouragement during moments of utter helplessness faced by her. STOP NGO wishes her all the best for her future endeavours!
The Communities of STOP joyfully celebrated the festival of Krishna Janmashtami on the 7th of September, 2023, including the energetic event of Matka-Phod (breaking of the earthen pot) by making a human pyramid.
The two Communities of STOP celebrated the day of Raksha Bandhan, which fell on the 30th and 31st of August, 2023, with great vigour and enthusiasm. The gallery of pictures reflect the same!
STOP’s Community Centres, namely Tigri and Tughlakabad, hosted the Independence Day celebrations on the 15th of August, 2023. The event introduction and the vote of thanks were delivered by the teachers of both communities. The energy present in the speeches given by the children, solo and group dances, skits, mashup songs, and the hoisting of the Indian flag was mixed with the air of patriotism and enthusiasm. It reflected on the ecstatic faces of the participants and the audiences, as the pictures speak below.
Project Responsible Netism was established by Ahaan Foundation, who invited us for a two day online workshop on “Building Digital Rakshak” in the month of August, 2023. Two members from STOP, namely Smritikana Ghosh Paul and Narayani Bhattacharya, participated actively in this event. On the first day, introduction to cybercrime, especially sextortion against children, internet addiction, its psychological impacts, remedies, and how online games affect children and their guardians were deliberated upon. Numerous participants gave their inputs by pitching in incidents of cybercrime their children had faced, especially during Covid. On the second day, Cyber Laws, Psychological and Emotional assistances provided holistically for the affected child and his family, as well as technical tips to secure devices and platforms were discussed in detail. It ended with an activity where the audience gave their opinions on how to tackle myriad hypothetical cases on cybercrime against children.
On the occasion of celebrating the Human Anti-Trafficking Day, on Friday, 28th of July, 2023, a large conclave of women volunteers was held at Tughlakabad by STOP (R.B.C.T.). About 300 women and girls participated in the conclave.
A leading social activist, Sh. Amitava Bhattacharyya, former CIC, and a retired Senior IAS officer, while initiating the discussion, mentioned that human trafficking:
1. Is the 3rd most internationally recognized organized criminal activity in the world
2. Comes after drugs and illegal weapons trade.
2. Various initiatives by government and civil society organizations have been initiated without any appreciable result.
3. A report to the parliament by the gov a few days ago stated that in a span of two years, i.e. 2020-22, about 7 lakh women and children were missing.
This is a serious social ill; not just the government and civil society organizations, but the people, especially the parents, should be aware of the various dimensions of this problem.
The other activists, namely Smritikana Ghosh Paul, Janki Gadhvi, Poonam Choudhary, Narayani Bhattacharya, and Mahima Rao spoke on this occasion. The role of the community as first responders and the need for establishing a close link between the NGO, i.e. stop and our Mahila Mandals and vigilantes, was stressed again and again, so that any incidence of missing women and children can be detected and reported in the very first instance itself.
STOP’s Tigri Community organized a line of events throughout the 21st of May, in celebration of the International Yoga Day. The students as well as their mothers were trained in basic breathing exercises and flexing the body muscles. Eager faces and excited hearts joined together to make it an eventful day!
Two staff members of STOP, namely Mamta Gopal and Narayani Bhattacharya, were invited to participate in the latest SPUWAC (Special Police Unit for Women And Children) meeting held on the 15th of June, 2023. The DCP and ACP, along with many other prominent NGO’s were physically present during the meeting. We gave a short presentation on our NGO, its activities, operations, latest workshops, and the reason for which we had gathered in the august meeting. Both the ambience and the audience were quite welcoming. We sincerely hope that this meeting becomes fruitful in the near future.
STOP and ECPAT International together arranged a meeting on the 25th of April, 2023 on the launch study meeting of “Global Boys Initiative: Sexual Exploitation of Boys: India Report”, at Hotel Holiday Inn, Aerocity. The event was divided into three phases, wherein the first was introducing the study, second involved the panellists to shed light on the topic from various viewpoints, and the third was dedicated to create an Action Plan prepared through recommendations given by the participants as well as the panellists. Panellists and participants from all over the nation came to participate and give their valuable inputs as to how to prevent the sexual exploitation of boys. We hope that the meeting turns out to be successful in reaching its desired goal.
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