In Jan 2010, a baseline survey was done at Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri railway stations under the leadership of Mr. Manoj Kumar (Founder of SOCH) to understand the issue of runaway children and their resettlement. Manoj was then a member of Sathi- an NGO that has been working in the field of child rescue and rehabilitation. Survey findings were quite alarming as more than 100 children were landing at Bhubaneswar railway station on a daily basis, having run away from their homes mostly due to trivial reasons. These children subsequently became street children, prone to trafficking and abuse. Boys were sold to beggary gangs and girls to red light areas. Realising the enormity of the issue, Manoj decided to focus all his future endeavors to work towards saving these innocent lives.
Society for Children (SOCH) Formed in July, 2012; Started Rescuing Children in Aug, 2012 and Was Registered On 13th Nov, 2013.
Organization Background
SOCH is a non-profit Organization Registered under Society Act XXI of 1860 with the Registration No-23515/51 at IGR Cuttack, Odisha. Established in July 2012, SOCH is currently operational in three locations viz. Bhubaneswar, Khurdha Road & Paradeep. RAKSHYAK (Child Rescue and Resettlement Project), PUNARJIVAN (Behavior Modification Camp of Hard Behavior, Addicted Children), PANKH (Mainstreaming of Youths having orphan or semi orphan background) , CCCD (Child Centered Community Development) and CCDR(Child Centered Disaster Response) are the five Programme of SOCH.
The Founder
Manoj had always aspired to make a difference to the society and was especially sensitive to the vulnerable sections of the society. After realising how grave the issue of runaway children was in Odisha, he decided to quit his job at Pune and start SOCH in Odisha. He shared his ideas and personalities like Prof. Malcolm Harper, Prof. David Taylor and Mr. Pramod Kulkarni showed faith and extended their support. Confident in his ideas, backed with support and led by a firm resolve to make a difference, Manoj started SOCH in July, 2012. Prof Malcolm was the backbone supporter, mentor and gave encouragement to Manoj in successfully starting the project and extending all support to continue the efforts, which have saved the lives of hundreds of children so far.
Manoj Kumar Swain, Founder Of SOCH