Hadiya’s Journey

It’s a quiet village in Bandzoo Pulwama, which is about 42 kilometers away from Srinagar. In it lies the story of how one family has withstood the forces of disaster but emerged more robust and hopeful, thanks to their community’s embrace. Nine-year-old Hadiya (Name Changed), thirteen-year-old Humaiz (Name Changed), and their mother make up the nucleus of this story.

The family’s world was suddenly turned upside down in 2020 with the loss of their father. As financial pressures mounted, the emotional toll on the children became increasingly visible. Hadiyaretreated into isolation, while Humaiz’s behavior grew more impulsive and demanding. Their mother, struggling to hold the family together, began contemplating the heart-wrenching decision of sending Humaiz to an institution.

This is where the Child Protection Group (CPG) of Bandzoo and the Human Welfare Voluntary Organization stepped in, showing how targeted intervention can transform lives. Their approach was comprehensive: combining emotional support with practical assistance, they wove a safety net that would catch this falling family.

“The key was addressing both the emotional and financial aspects simultaneously,” explains a CPG member. “We couldn’t solve one without addressing the other.”

Through regular counseling sessions, both children started processing their trauma. Slowly but surely, the shadows of isolation and impulsivity began to lift. But the CPG knew that emotional healing needed to be buttressed by financial stability.

Their hard work finally paid off in 2023 when Hadiya was sponsored under the Mission Vatsalya program, a vital source of income for the year in the form of INR 48,000. The CPG did not rest there. They managed to get a school fee waiver for both children and facilitated the mother’s receipt of a monthly widow pension of INR 1,000 through the ISSS scheme.

Probably the most transformative was the mother finding a job as an AAYA in a government school. That provided an income stream to the family, which, beyond that, gave her a sense of purpose and a feeling of connection to the community.

“What we’re seeing in Bandzoo is a model of community-based child protection,” says a social worker involved with the case. “It’s not just about preventing family separation; it’s about strengthening families so they can thrive together.”

The story of Hadiya’s family illustrates a very important lesson in child protection: that the best way to protect vulnerable children is often to strengthen the family unit as a whole. Through multi-faceted support – emotional counseling, financial assistance, and community integration – what could have been a story of separation became one of reunion and renewal.

Today, Hadiya and Humaiz are regular students at their school, and slowly, their traumatic experiences are healed with continued care. Their mother, who was once weighed down by circumstance, is a pillar of strength for her children, supported not only by the community but by her own earnings as well.

This is the story of a small village in Kashmir that stands out as a strong reminder that whenever communities unite for the cause of vulnerable families, they are not just preventing separation; they are strengthening the communities at large.