Rescuing Abandoned Children in South Asia
Imagine abandoning your child because it is the best option for survival
Based on a true story of two sisters in Asia named Asha and Lata, “Abandoned” (a short film) tells their story in a context that we, Westerners, would understand. Sadly, their story is a reality for thousands of children in South Asia.
Watch the short film titled “Abandoned.”
A mother in South Asia really did abandon her daughters on a train
Asha tells the story of her mother leaving her and her sister on a train near Mumbia (Bombay), India. Confused and lost, Asha and Lata, waited at a train station, just hoping their mom would come back for them. Asha’s mother never returned.
Asha’s Story
“My name is Asha. Six months ago, my sister Lata and I got on a train with our mom. She told us we were going to Bombay. We were excited because all the movies in India are made in Bombay! We love watching movies, and we always wanted to ride a train.
Lata and I pushed through the other passengers and squeezed into our seats with our mother. We had a lot of fun looking out the windows at all the trees and fields passing by. The train made stop after stop at junctions along the way. I did not know when we would get there, but I thought it must be soon because we had traveled so far. At one of the stops, Mom stood up and said to us, “You girls stay here. I’m going to get something to drink.” But after a few minutes, the train started moving again, and Mom still wasn’t back!
We were so scared that we didn’t know what to do! We held our hands together and stayed as close as we could. Our hearts were racing. The train left the junction and kept going faster and faster. Hours passed. Where was Mom? No one seemed to know or care.
After many hours, the train finally stopped at a big, loud station. I was in tears. I decided that we should get off. There were people everywhere, pushing and shoving. Lata and I stayed close together, but we did not know where to go. I thought that maybe someone could help us, but I was too scared to talk to anyone! We sat together in a corner, waiting for something to happen. I don’t know what. We waited for several hours.
As the sun started to set, a kind-looking woman came and asked us what was wrong. We told her that we had lost our mother. She led us to a shelter where we could stay, a place for other girls who were lost or didn’t have their families.
It feels like it has been a long time since that day. Our mother still has not found us, but I am glad we are at the shelter. I don’t know what would have happened to us if we had stayed at the station.”
— Asha
Excerpt from No Longer a Slumdog pgs. 30-31
Parents like her often live with the guilt of this decision for the rest of their lives. But because of the desperate needs of the rest of their family, they feel they have no other choice.
Abandoning children: a too-common crisis
Just in March 2015, a journalist tweeted a photo of three children left at a train station in New Delhi, India.1
“Can someone help these helpless kids at New Delhi Railway Station near platform 16 entrance?” he tweeted in an attempt to get them help.
Fortunately, after a number of hours, the police were able to reunite them with their mother. The children’s father had left them there to fend for themselves.
Abandoning children at train stations is “so common in India,” the local authorities are creating protocols for how to rescue abandoned children in trains and [train] stations. 2
GFA World is working to rescue abandoned and orphaned children
When children are abandoned or run away from home, they have little option but to live on the streets. If these children are left unprotected, they can be kidnapped and forced to beg or even become enslaved in the sex trade.
GFA World-supported workers provide these children with food, clothing, schooling and a safe, loving environment through the street childrens homes. The workers also strive to reunite children with their families.
Testimony: What it’s like to meet rescued children
“Their eyes sparkle with joy because they feel loved and secure. ... I was blown away by this love the staff poured out on [the children]. Each child knew he or she was treasured and special, but more importantly, they now know how much they mean to Jesus."
— Andi, visited a street children's home
1https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/three-abandoned-children-at-indias-busiest-railway-station-saved-by-a-tweet-10128266.html
2https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Protocol-soon-for-rescuing-abandoned-children-in-trains-and-stations/articleshow/46082762.cms
