KISMAT
“Apni KISMAT Apni Hat” (My destiny is in my own hands.)
Kerala Interstate Migrant's Alliance for Transformation, a project for the care and restoration of the rights of the interstate migrant population.
Kerala Interstate Migrants Alliance for Transformation is a collective effort by Don Bosco to reach out to the growing population of young inter-state migrants at risk across 11 districts in the State of Kerala, India, with welfare measures to address exploitation and poor living conditions.
Project Description
Large numbers of young people migrate to unorganized sectors in Kerala. They are unskilled, poor, and exploited, and their rights are grossly violated. Such poor and young migrants moving from one state to another do not vote banks. So, no political parties want them at the migrated destinations. They do not know the language of the place and face alienation from the local society. They cannot access their rightful entitlements such as food, shelter, medical care, bank services, education, skill training, legal support, and other services. KISMAT is a network of 12 Migrants help desks set up in Don Bosco Salesian houses across 11 districts in Kerala, headed by the Don Bosco Veedu Society at Trivandrum.
Project Goals
- Set up 12 Migrants’ Desks in 11 districts of Kerala state and provided support services through a rights-based approach.
- Give migrants the confidence that they have competent persons at every Don Bosco center who cares for them and assists them.
- Make the Don Bosco community an address/place/home where migrants can come in for any emergency or for urgent services and support.
- Build a network of persons and organizations committed to supporting the rights of migrants and empowering them to access them.
- Motivate, accompany and empower migrants to overcome the constraints and deprivations they face.
- Promote positive political discourse for the “inclusion” of migrants in society and contribute to changing the negative perception and discriminatory portrayal of migrants.
- Advocate for the rights of migrants, and create better options at the source areas to reduce “forced” migration.