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CHILDLINE India Foundation

CHILDLINE first started as a field action project of the Department of Family and Child Welfare, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai, in June 1996. It was founded by Ms. Jeroo Billimoria, then a professor at TISS.

Ms. Billimoria started to interact with children staying on railway stations or at Mumbai's night shelters. Slowly, children in crisis began to contact her at any time of night and day. Although Ms Billimoria found validation in her work while answering and responding to the calls of children in need, she realised that it was not possible for her to respond to the hundreds of children who needed help.

She realised that a tele-helpline could solve the need expressed by the children on the streets – a need to have instant support when they are ill, injured or just want to talk to someone. What was required was a one-point contact that would quickly connect children to services that they need during or after a crisis.

Counting Down to 10...9...8!

When told about the idea for a crisis phone number, the children had genuine concerns: "We roam ten cities. How will we remember ten numbers?", "It costs money to make a phone call, what happens when we are broke?"

While the solution seemed simple, the realisation of that dream was a challenging journey in itself. It took three years, two dharnas by the children themselves and a threat of a hunger strike to finally establish 1098 as the national toll-free number for children.

However there seemed to be a problem. One that could have been perceived as minor but would have massive impact on the success of the plan. It was simply that ‘One-Zero-Nine-Eight' did not seem catchy enough for children to remember. There was no association with the number. Then a solution came from the children themselves. One of whom suggested to Ms. Billimoria to call it as ‘Ten-Nine-Eight’ instead!

As usual, children saw what grown-ups had failed to see and that’s the story of how ‘Dus-Nau-Aath’ came to be.

Strong Foundations!

With strong motivations and dedication to make a child-friendly nation that guarantees the rights and protection of all children, CHILDLINE India Foundation was formed in 1999.

Between 1997 and 2000, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment agreed to fund CHILDLINE at the national level.The Government committed that by 2002, CHILDLINE would be in every Indian city with a population of 10 million.

In 2006-07, the Ministry for Women and Child Development (MWCD) granted the exclusive ‘Nodal Mother NGO’ status to CHILDLINE India Foundation in order to set up CHILDLINE services across the country.

Subsequently, CHILDLINE India Foundation became established as an umbrella organization to identify, provide support services and to monitor efficient service delivery of the centres at various locations. It serves as a link between the Ministry and the NGOs in the field.

The CHILDLINE 1098 service has received a special mention in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.