S TANDING humbly in a quiet lane in Wadala, the three-storey building of Shelter Don Bosco may seem nothing great to the average passer-by. However, the NGO, which was founded in 1987 by the Salesian Community of Mumbai, houses about 150 underprivileged and street children.

Started as an open house for the roofless and rootless children of Mumbai, any boy living on the street can now walk in to seek help and refuge. And, only last week, following its two successful 'Vulnerable Children's Melas', popularly known as the Career Mela, Shelter Don Bosco held its third monthly Career Mela in an effort to lend a voice to marginalized children.

Held on the 19th and 20th of every month, this is one of the Shelter's most effective programmes, reaching out to 400 to 500 children on the street, helping the organization maintain regular contact with groups of boys from the streets. In addition to the 150 resident boys of the Shelter, around 350 boys show up from areas like Dadar station, Mahim Dargah, Kurla station, Bandra station, etc.

The focus of the Career Mela is on ca reer education, through which qualified resource people from different organizations come conduct seminars on a range of career options for street children. "Through these melas, these boys can be given professional guidance and be assisted in choosing a career. They can be motivated to lead a better life and be made aware of what is needed to set realistic goals that they can pursue through studies as well as through the use of their inborn talents," says Father Llyod Rodrigues, Director of Shelter Don Bosco. "These small monthly melas will form a run-up to our mega event in October, the Diwali Mela, which will provide career guidance to nearly 3,000 street children."

Last week's Career Mela included practical demonstrations on welding, a mechanic's training for cars and twowheelers as well as clear instructions on making phenyl, soap, bakery products, sandwiches, omelettes, candles, paper bags, agarbattis, etc. There were also presentations on various careers like marine architecture, fashion jewellery design, animal husbandry, stage artistry, drawing, cargo shipping and many more. And, to make it all entertaining for the young boys, the mela also included a song and dance routine plus indoor and outdoor games.

Salman Khan (16), a resident of the Shelter who just finished schooling, says: "I always wanted to become a marine engineer but I never knew how I should go about pursuing it. The resource people in the Career Mela provided us with valuable information like what course is needed for a particular profession and what are the qualifications needed. Now I have options to choose from."

Pinku, who also stays at the Shelter, was 9 years old when he ran away from his home in Patna, coming to Mumbai with a dream in his heart. However, without any financial support, Pinku found himself on the streets until he was picked up by the Shelter. Today, at the age of 17, Pinku nurtures an ambition that he never thought practical.

"I am very fond of dancing. In fact, everybody here calls me Shahid Kapoor.

When I grow up, I want to open a dance academy. With the guidance that I got from the recent Career Mela, this dream actually seems possible."

"Our focus is to guide and motivate these boys to take the initiative to do something constructive. We try to make them aware about how they can set up small entrepreneurships, small scale businesses and become independent," says Darshita Dedia, a counselling psychologist at the Shelter.

The Shelter houses these boys till the age of 18 after which they are expected to step out and earn a living for themselves. "The Shelter is a training ground for these boys. We are hopeful that these melas will truly provide them an opportunity to explore job options and give them a good future," Darshita adds.

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