About Us

Living a barren life with no hopes,no restrictions, nowhere to go and no one to turn to – this is the life of millions of children living in India. They are born to live under poor condition, who naturally fall prey to social vices, like consumption of drugs or their childhood end up as “sex slaves” or as criminals. Our Constitution talks about right to education, right to food and right to shelter to all the children. But what about the fundamental rights of these children- who go back to sleep hungry stomach, do not go to school because their parents cannot afford the cost, linger round the dark lanes aimlessly. Are the fundamental rights engraved in the pages of Constitution are not meant for them? Realizing the seriousness of the issue Prayas today stands committed, to make heard the voices of these children. We believe that needs and rights of children are synonymous.

Prayas came into existence in 1988 in a disaster situation when a devastating fire broke out at Jahangirpuri, one of the largest resettlement slums of Delhi, destroying thousands of families who lost their homes and livelihood. Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society is a national level humanitarian, gender sensitive and Child focused development organization. We operate 231 centers including 11 Homes for children across the country in 08 States/UTs directly serving about 50,000 beneficiaries, marginalized children and over 11,000 youth and women  addressing the multiple issues and programs relating to child protection and juvenile justice, trafficking of children and women, vocational and  life skills training, empowering women through Self-Help Groups and Income Generation Programmes, promotion of entrepreneurship, facilitating credit through bank linkages and also direct micro finance operations.The organization is envisioned to restore the lost childhood of neglected, destitute and underprivileged children and support youth and women of the areas where it operates. Prayas believes that 'the rights of child are synonymous to their basic needs.' 

The worst affected were the children, who were absolutely traumatized and shaken. Its immediate efforts were to restore normalcy into their lives and rehabilitate them. Subsequently, Prayas continued to grow in its outreach and need-based projects by responding to various socio-economic realities that emerged with each community-based intervention.

For nearly two decades now, Prayas has been and continues to be involved in meaningful, development driven initiatives that distinctly impact the quality of life of the weaker sections of the society, surrounding hundreds of slums / villages in and around and the national capital region of Delhi, Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and the Tsunami devastated Andaman & Nicobar Islands, addressing the marginalized and poorest among the poor. the organization has been committed to the integrated model of development, to meet the fundamental needs of care, protection, shelter, food, clothing, health, recreation and above all alternative education for holistic development of the destitute children. Vocational training and life skill enhancement training is being imparted to older children and women with a view to settle them in life.   Homepage_Link1 & Link2