SLARTC organizes programmes on education, preventive health care, and recreational and cultural activities for the street and working children along with their family members who dwell on the pavement itself.

The 1983 Report of the Director General of ILO defined child labour as including children who are prematurely leading adult lives, work long hours for low wages under conditions damaging to their health, physical and mental development, sometimes separated from their families, frequently deprived of meaningful education and training opportunities.

Article 39E of the Indian Constitution states that children should not be abused and not be forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age and strength. Article 39F continues be stating that children should be protected against exploitation and moral and material abandonment.

in spite of both national and international conventions millions of children in India are forced to work in a variety of fields, often hazardous in nature. In both urban and rural areas they are forced to work at the cost of their childhood. They work in areas as diverse as agriculture, plantations, mining, heavy industry, construction, domestic chores, hotels, rag picking, shoe shining, etc. 

SLARTC, since its inception, has advocated against child labor systems and bonded children. It has taken up cases on behalf of child laborers while also organizing orientations for NGO's and members of the legal fraternity who work with child labour issues. 

SLARTC continues to lobby for more effective legislation as it campaigns for the eradication of child labour. In addition SLARTC runs education and health programmes for working children through its 25 educational centers (NFE's).

Trafficking in persons shall mean: "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal or organs." Article 3 of The United Nations Protocol to prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000.

Perhaps the most vivid and graphic aspect of humanity that SLARTC addresses is that of trafficking, with the most visible form seen in prostitution where girl children under the age of 18 makes up 40% of prostitutes in India. The children are often the indigenous people and the ethnic minorities that are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution due to language barriers, illiteracy and residency status. They typically do not have the resources and knowledge of their rights. The results are devastating as India now has the largest concentration of child prostitutes in the world, and West Bengal, where Kolkata is located, has emerged as its focal point. It was against this backdrop that SLARTC was formed. SLARTC takes up cases for repatriation, counseling and legal help. SLARTC is especially vocal in its pressure as it campaigns for more effective legislation to eradicate trafficking.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Article 7, a document ratified by more than 80 countries, defines acts like murder, extermination, enslavement and a host of other acts as crimes against humanity. Prominently listed are the crimes of sexual slavery and forced prostitution. SLARTC continues to press for increased global awareness and more effective implementation of international laws pertaining to sex trade trafficking.

Women's Cell of SLARTC works with about 30 women's groups in various districts and 70 neighborhood groups in about ten village in the area of Chapuria (Nilgunj), which is just outside Kolkata. The Women's Cell is especially active in the areas of nutritional programs for children, safe drinking water, health and education. Through sponsored programs in adopted villages and slums, the Women's Cell continues to work for cleaner drinking water, safe housing and better sanitation programs. In addition, the Women's Cell has a long standing history of being active in the legal arena by rigorously challenging inadequate laws and practices.

Without social security the elderly of India are faced with economic conditions that renders many of them unable to meet even their most basic needs. With an ever changing social climate family support continues to decrease as the adult children struggle with meeting their own obligations. 

Faced with homelessness, hunger and a lack of even the most basic medical care, many of India's elders spend their last days on a pavement, alone and without the dignity that should be afforded to all human beings. SLARTC, since its inception, has supported the aged through aggressive outreach programs, fighting not only for better elder rights legislation, but also instrumental in providing direct aid and assistance. 

SLARTC directly supports large numbers of senior citizens in Kolkata through its Adopt-a-Granny program. Supported by Helpage International UK and Helpage India, the Adopt-a-Granny program provides the elderly with food, medial care and the necessities. Internationally recognized for its effectiveness in combating the issues facing today's elders, SLARTC continues to work diligently to allow the aged to live their remaining years in security and dignity.

Click here to learn more about adopting a Granny.

The Support-a-Child Program grew from SLARTC's earlier outreach efforts and has become a nationally recognized program benefiting of the neediest of children. The Support-a-Child program was established to help provide the basic amenities of life, i.e., education, health, nutrition, clothing, etc.

The children supported are: · Railway platform children · Street children · Child labourers · Trafficked and sexually exploited children · Children of women working as prostitutes · Children from economical backward classes · Mentally and physically challenged children.

When you sponsor a child through The Support-a-Child program you help to change a child's life. Through your support, you intervene and positively impact into a childhood limited by poverty, illiteracy and the basic necessities of life. Your sponsorship allows a child to learn to read and write and to receive basic healthcare and clothing. Above all your support provides hope, where none existed before. When you sponsor a child you will receive a picture and a progress report at least once a year or quarterly by e-mail, and it has become common for a relationship to develop between the child and their sponsor.

Click here to become a sponsor and help change a life.

SLARTC has coordinated several visit programmes of developmental groups and researchers to visit women's groups in the field of rural development, health, mother and child care, nutritional programmes, women's income generation group, non-formal education for children etc.

The effects of being in the flesh trade are far reaching. Destroying families, it subjects girl children and women to a world of violence and deprivation, stripping them of their dignity and pride. Bought and sold like animals, they are moved across borders and subjected to the most dehumanizing conditions as they are used as sex objects throughout South Asia and beyond. 

Those that are fortunate enough to have escaped their bondage live with the vivid memories of their experiences for the rest of their lives. They are faced with choices that challenge traditional beliefs and customs. If they return to their home village they are often ostracized and without support. If they stay in the cities they live in squalor, without hope or opportunity. They become one of the million of invisible souls that inhabit the already overly populated cities of India and its neighbors. These girl children and women, who have been subjected to the mental and physical abuse of sexual exploitation, are themselves battling their past.

Severe depression, guilt, alcoholism, drug abuse and suicide are common amongst these victims. SLARTC has long recognized the mental health needs of those who have survived the worst of humanity. Since its inception SLARTC has aggressively pursued outreach programs to help meet the psychological needs of these victims. Utilizing mental health professionals, SLARTC offers trauma counseling that addresses the severe, often tenuous mental condition of those who have escaped their horrific past.

As legislation, law enforcement and public awareness continues to increase, more and more victims are being rescued from their bondage. SLARTC seeks to expand its counseling capabilities to properly address the increasing need, and as additional funding is obtained SLARTC will continue to assist in the rehabilitation of victims of child prostitution and sex trafficking.