Prayas was formed in 1988, through the collaborative efforts of the Delhi Police, the Delhi School of Social Work and Shramik Vidyapeeth, when a devastating fire in Jahangirpuri, a major slum area in Delhi, left a lot of children hopeless, helpless and homeless. It aimed at reorganizing and rebuilding the lives of such children. Starting its activities in a tiny one-room structure, Prayas began to function by providing non-formal education to 25 children. Prayas believes that the basic needs of the child are synonymous with his/her basic rights. These include the right to (i) survival. (ii) protection. (iii) development and (iv) participation. We envisage a scenario where every child goes to school or receives a decent ‘alternative education’ and has the opportunity to satisfy his / her basic needs for development. Mission of Prayas JAC Prayas’ mission is to protect children’s rights, to help them meet their basic needs and to expand opportunities to achieve their full potential. Guided by dreams and aspirations of thousands of neglected street and working children, Prayas pursue its mission with both commitment and Compassion because the children it serves deserve the best. Vision Vision of Prayas is to restore the lost childhood of neglected, street and working children and the marginalized. It visualizes a world that protects children’s rights. A world that treats every child equally and lets boys and girls play and learn, and grow to adult hood in health, peace and dignity, a world that involves children and young people in making decisions about their lives and finding ways to make the world as better place for all. Prayas Outreach..... (1) 30 Institutional Care facilities including Shelter Homes, Children Homes, Observation Homes, Night Shelters and Drop-In-Centres (2) 241 community based Alternative Education and child protection centres for 50,000 marginalized & at-risk children/youth (3) Approximately 5,000 out-of-school children annually covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Delhi alone (4) Supports 10,000+ youth and women through 46 Vocational Training Centres in market driven, locally employable skills under Prayas Institute of Economic Empowerment, NIOS, IGNOU and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), Prayas 66 Community and project based libraries & study centres with Education Centres (6) Nearly 15,000 children, women, aged and disabled, victims of earthquake, Tsunami and Floods in Bhuj Distt. in Gujarat, A&N Islands & Supaul -Samastipur in Bihar, respectively. (7) Thematic projects for marginalized children, youth & women pertaining to Juvenile Justice & Child Protection, Child Labour & Trafficking, Disasters & Crisis Management etc. (8) Running Primary Health Centres in Arunachal Pradesh & Bihar, School Health Program in A&N Islands under NRHM, as well as Health Care programs in Project areas (9) Water & Sanitation programs in disaster-affected Gujarat and A & N Islands