Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based NGO Yugantar has initiated an action research project to address the issues of the youth who are at risk of turning criminals and will help them in their social recovery and mainstream rehabilitation.
As a pilot project in collaboration with the Hyderabad city police, the NGO held a counselling session for 70 youths in Hussaini Alam. The young persons were either involved in anti-social activities or were under the scanner of the police.
Yugantar director Shashi Kumar said, “Our organisation has designed a two-year project that is supported by the International Development Research Centre, Canada. The main objective of the research is to contribute to the development of a pathway of prevention and social recovery of youth who are at the risk of turning criminals.”
He said, “As a part of the project we have planned to have interactive sessions with the youth at risk, particularly those under police surveillance and provide employability training to them with special focus on increasing self-awareness and mindfulness. We also wish to encourage civic engagement through voluntary work such as working in community kitchens, taking care of old people, traffic control, neighbourhood cleaning, planting trees etc.”
Mr Kumar said, “It is our observation that with one or two sessions of counselling or motivational speeches it is impossible to bring behavioural changes in such youth. In one such youth group, we spent more than four months to create self-motivation.”
He said the group was taking the help of Indian Society for Applied Behavioural Sciences. After completion of the programme if the police observes changes in them, monitoring and vigilance will be minimised provided they continue to live as good citizens, he said.
Hussaini Alam station house officer Ramesh Kotwal said, “We are trying to bring behavioural changes in such youth so that they can live as peace loving citizens which will be good for them and society as well. As a part of this project, we will train them in skill development activities depending upon their interest and will help them to earn their bread and butter.”
