What is SAMATOL?

Sa – Samta (equality)    Ma – Mamta (affection)     To – Tohfa (gift)     L – Lakshya (goal)

Samatol also means balance in Marathi.

Samatol Foundation was registered in 2006, under The Social Institution Registration’s Act, 1860 G.B.B.S.D. 2528/06 and The Public Charitable Trust Act, 1950, F-31920 at Mumbai.

Samatol Foundation is a Non-Profit Social Organization, which works for the upliftment and rehabilitation of runaway children. They runaway from their homes due to various psychological or socio-economic reasons. We strive to reunite them with their families. Samatol is a national organisation established in 2004, in order to bring these socially backward and deprived children into mainstream society, moulding them into being responsible citizens of India.

Samatol Foundation is proud to declare that it has been successful in creating a positive impact on the lives of over 10,000 children so far, and so has created an equal number of happy families.

Samatol firmly believes that a child’s rights can only be well protected within the confines of their own family. In Samatol, the basic rights of the children are always taken into consideration. They are a priority to us and are taken proper care of until they’re reunited with their families. We have taken on the responsibility of preventing children from getting onto the wrong track in life, which would ruin their own life, at the stake of India’s future.

Samatol Foundation functions at Mumbai C.S.T., Dadar, Kurla Thane, Byculla, Bandra, Borivali and Kalyan Junction stations within Mumbai. It has also extended its working territory to Pune and Bhusaval stations outside Mumbai. In the near future, Samatol also wishes to work on stations like Amravati, Aurangabad, Nanded, Nagpur, etc.

Currently, we have a team of volunteers working on Railway Stations. Whilst observing the platforms, they pick out the children within the range of 5-15 years of age. They have lost their identity in the huge canvas of the city, but our volunteers are on hand to rescue them. At the moment, there are 20 volunteers working for Samatol, 15 on a salary basis and 5 for their own personal joy.

GOAL

The main goal Samatol strives for, is to build our Indian society into a Baal Premi Samaj, a Child Friendly Society.

VISION

Samatol envisions that a child should grow in the protective hands of his own state. He should be able to converse in his own mother tongue, and should be able to celebrate his religious and cultural festivals together with his samaj.

MISSION

• Change Observation Home to Children home (Balgruh)
• Change Child Labor Court to Child labor Department.
• Put Women and Child department at the Start itself.

Samatol strives to make all the Governmental organizations like the Women and Children Department, Police Department, Child Welfare Committee, Juvenile Justice Board, Children Home (Balgruh), Child Labor Department and Child Help Line (1098) work in unison and collaborate for this noble cause.

Samatol’s Role

The volunteers at Samatol Foundation have a crucial role to play. Their work begins all the way from identifying a runaway on the railway platform and finishes when he has been safely handed over to his parents.

Although the work of identifying a lost/run away child on a railway platform seems to be quite easy, the actual task of taking custody of the child is very difficult. In some cases, the children are so used to staying independently, that they are not ready to come with us. They do not prefer to be confined again. The volunteers have to initially gain the trust and confidence of the child and convince him about the work of the Foundation and its various activities.

After this, the found child has to be registered at the nearest Railway Police Station. Thereafter, the child needs to be taken for a Medical Examination at an allocated Government hospital in accordance with the registered number at the Police Station. While this is taking place, the foundation volunteers try and trace down the child’s family and/or relatives.

The newly found children need to be accommodated until the root cause of their reason for running away is investigated. The Government has built temporary shelters and observation homes in order to accommodate these children. After knowing the root cause, volunteers decide where he needs to be temporarily kept in the temporary shelter or in a government run observation home.

After obtaining complete custody of the child, he is brought to our camp site situated in Mamnoli, Kalyan, known as the “Manparivartan Shibir”. This is a 45-day rehabilitation camp, where the children are counselled, mentally and physically, to develop a feeling of love and affection towards their families. This counselling is completed with the help of professionally trained and qualified counsellors.

During the counselling process, the children are asked about their families. Through discussions with the counsellors at the camp, the children are reveal their family details. These family details are immediately conveyed to the contact person of the respective state working for Samatol. When the child’s family members are found, they are asked to attend the farewell ceremony which is held on the last day of the camp. Following the ceremony, the reunited families take their children safely home.

The complete functioning of the foundation cannot be summarized in such few words. The work it has done up till now, has given the members and volunteers of this foundation immense joy and pleasure.