APNA GHAR 4.65

Originally established in 1988 to rehabilitate the children who appeared in the film, Salaam Bombay! (1988) in Mumbai, Salaam Baalak Trust started working in 1989, and by 2005 it had 17 centres for street child throughout India.[6]

This struck a chord with the trustees, who identified the potential in India's street children. A trust was created where young street boys and girls could feel secure and could breathe hope. In New Delhi, SBT started its operations with a staff of 3 and 25 children in the open-air balcony of the Police Station at the New Delhi Railway Station. It has now grown to employ a staff of 142, providing support services in Delhi & NCR region. SBT currently functions through 13 Contact Points/Day Care Centers and 5 Shelter Homes, which provide a holistic child development. In its 25 years of operation, it has brought about a positive change in the lives of more than 50,000 children from India and abroad. SBT also manages an emergency Child Helpline (1098), which is a toll free number to reach out to children in distress at any point of time.

Starting 1999, Family Health International (FHI), with funding from USAID, started working with the SBT, on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, while supplying, street children aged between 4 and 13 with food, medical aid, education, and essential supplies.[7][8][9] Over the years its shelters have been visited by various national and international dignitaries, including, Tony Blair and Cherie Blair (2005).[10][11]

Since 2003, it has also been working with volunteers from University College Dublin Volunteers Overseas, (UCDVO).[12] In 2006, Salaam Baalak Trust won the ‘Civil Society Award’ from the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) and UNAIDS.[13] Earlier in March, it started a guided city walk, through the areas managed by the Trust: its shelters, contact points, and areas around the New Delhi Railway Station in Paharganj, where the street children live and earn a living, doing menial jobs. The tour, guided by former street children themselves, sensitizes people about the lives of street children in Delhi, and the turnaround possible in the lives of these children, when given an opportunity.[14][15][16]


Its latest home, DMRC Children Home, built exclusively for boys, was opened in New Delhi (near Tis Hazari Metro Station) in August 2010 and provides shelter to over 100 boys. The Arushi centre at Gurgaon was opened in 2008 and provided support to around 86 girls, aged between 5 and 18.

Recently, SBT has tied up with the Central Queensland University, Australia to provide higher education to its children.