Child Helpline (1098)
Aawaaj has been operated free child helpline (1098) in Surkhet district in collaboration and with co-ordination with Ministry of women and child social welfare, central child welfare board, district child welfare board, district development committee and Nepal Tele-communication since 2010. A child helpline is a phone and outreach service for children. It is accessible to all children whenever they require assistance or just need someone to talk to. A child helpline places children and their protection as its core principle, providing emergency assistance and linking children to long term services. A child helpline is accessible to children and young people around the clock, free of cost and enables them to contact someone in any emergency situation. It provides children and young people with an opportunity to express their concerns and talk about the issues directly affecting them. A child helpline is founded on the belief that children and young people have rights, and that they can identify their problems. Phone calls from children are received in contact centers, where helpline staff and volunteers attend to the calls.
The helpline team member will go out, meet the child and help the child to safety. The helpline will have to act immediately to get the child out of the dangerous or emergency situation and after that make sure the child is linked to the appropriate services for long term follow up.
Government of Nepal, Working Procedure of Child Helpline-2064 (2007) defines the term ‘children at risk’ indicate the following children.
- Street children
- Children at high risk labour
- Lost and abandoned children
- Children in bonded labor or forced labor
- Children who are victims of physical and mental torture, discrimination, and misbehavior
- Children who are suffered from severe illness, accident and disaster
- Children of arrested or imprisoned parents or children in conflict with law
- Children living under difficult situations
- Children who are victims or are prone to sexual harassment, sexual abuse and trafficking
- Children seeking psycho-social counselling.
- Children affected by armed conflict and wars
- Children who are victim of insolence
