Street begging is a sign of both social and personal disarray. It makes us think of an unorganized society where people are forced to choose beggary as a means of ensuring their life due to the predominance of different political, socioeconomic, and psychological elements. Begging is one of the most pervasive, varied, and significant social problems, yet it is also one of the least understood.
A significant portion of the population relies on begging as a primary source of income due to rising poverty and the expanding social divide. The burden on the working population grows as the percentage of the people engaged in beggaring increases, and the number of human resources used for positive human development decreases. In order to lessen the evil of begging in society, a multi-layered approach is required to the problem. Understanding and addressing this social issue – BADLAV – A Rehabilitation Center was born. This Rehabilitation Center is a lot like Popatbhai Foundation – Rehabilitation Center which gives The Beggars a Home, Work And A New Life
A Rehabilitation Center For All In Need
“Beggars can’t be choosers” But BADLAV (Rehabilitation Center)– helps them choose. With an aim to provide a better living to beggars, this rehabilitation centre is working towards building an equal society.
Badlav, which was founded on September 15th, 2015, has 80G and 12A certificates and is registered under the Societies Registration Act, of 1860. Beggars are among the most marginalized members of society and are typically not included in any significant government programmes aiming at upliftment. Badlav aims to change that. Their goal goes beyond simple charity to give them a platform and all the resources they need to rehabilitate themselves and lead a life of dignity via meaningful work.
Vision and Mission
A Rehabilitation Center for empowering weaker groups in society through services accessibility, inclusive growth, and stakeholder network formation.
Badlav aims at giving individuals a steady source of income that will help them regain their identity as human beings and transform them into respectable members of society. A reproducible and scalable approach is used to achieve this transition process. They are sure that if given the right direction anyoneone can achieve great fights The Inspiring Story Of Once A Rag Picker Now Feeding Over 800 Slum Kids is proof of this belief.
Trigger Behind Badlav
Badlav was influenced by Sharad Patel’s 2003 move from his village to Lucknow to pursue higher education. Outside the train station, he noticed people begging for food and cash. He had never seen anything like this before because no one begged in his area. They were openly drinking alcohol as well. This helped him recognize that the money these misinformed and weak people, including children, obtained from begging, was what drove them into a loop of abusing dangerous intoxicants. He was astounded to observe a sizable number of beggars in various locations throughout the city. He was both concerned and interested in their predicament.
His attention was also drawn to the gurudwaras’ practice of serving langar with generosity, equality, and kindness. He observed the exact reverse in temples, where food was given to the poor, beggars, the handicapped, and others simply for the purpose of giving. He began to be haunted by the thought of individuals receiving food in a disrespectful manner and their plight. In 2013, a beggar asked Sharad for 10 rupees, but instead of giving him cash, Sharad escorted the man to a neighbouring hotel and provided him with food to eat. It was heartbreaking to watch him beg. Sharad was left with a horrible image of the man due to his disturbed appearance, ripped clothing, unclean appearance, and hoarse voice.
It would be amazing if he could learn how to grow wheat or paddy. He would become independent in this way. The goal was to teach begging individuals skills so they could work for a living in a respectable manner. This is how the idea for Badlav developed, and on October 2, 2014, the “Bhikshavratti Mukti Abhiyan” was launched. As a result, Sharad Patel, and his classmates Mahendra Pratap and Jai Deep Kumar Rawat, formed an effort to end the practice of beggaring. Since its inception, Badlav the Rehabilitation Center has given the campaign impetus and changed the lives of hundreds of people.
Badlav Initiatives
Bhikshavratti Mukti Abhiyan
A voice for change, identity, and respect for oneself
The Bhikshavratti Mukti Abhiyan of this Rehabilitation Center tries to provide solutions for the complex problem of begging by focusing on several aspects of a beggar’s life. The three main areas that are addressed by this rehabilitation centre are social, psychological, and economic since interventions in each of these areas are necessary to successfully restore an identity that is stifled when the person engaged in begging. The many components of the intervention plan are:
Psychological: Each beneficiary receives in-depth counselling and psychotherapy in order to assist them to deal with their psychological trauma and stress as well as their substance misuse behaviour patterns.
Social: An effort is made to re-establish family connections for the beneficiaries, and families are also given counselling if necessary. Aadhaar, PAN cards, bank accounts, and other forms of identification are also given to them in order to assist them in establishing and demonstrating their identities in society.
Economical: Each beneficiary’s skills are identified, and jobs and micro businesses are then provided as necessary to enable them to live respectably.
Bal Jeevanshala
This project of this Rehabilitation Center aims to rehabilitate beggar children by reintegrating them into society through schooling. This effort aims to create holistic development by cultivating the children’s hidden skills in addition to educating the children who are involved in beggaring.
For this, the rehabilitation centre offers these youngsters all the necessary rehabilitation resources, and three different activities involve kids to develop their skills.
Youth Social Leadership
With a focus on young people, this effort aims to create a responsive ecosystem by enabling its participants, communities, and duty-bearers to build secure and resilient societies. The initiative of this Rehabilitation Center primarily focuses on empowering youngsters with the idea of “self to society.”
It enables students to acquire knowledge about different urgent societal problems and strive to address them. The effort of this Rehabilitation Center aims to educate young people about the Indian Constitution’s core rights and obligations and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Which connects the two—reality and the textbook. Badlav indeed is a changemaker as the name suggests and we are proud of the initiative of this Rehabilitation Center.
Feature Image Source: Badlav (1) and (2).
If you like this story, then read another inspiring story about how Ngurang Meena sets up a free self-help roadside library to instill the habit of reading in children and adults.
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