At Miracle Foundation India, as we strive towards enabling children to stay with their families and reach their full potential, we honor the incredible social workforce that makes it all possible. This month, we are pleased to celebrate the commitment and impact of Navneet Joshi, Protection Officer, Institutional Care, in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Navneet Joshi Ji once believed that children from vulnerable communities were best supported through systems, schemes, and institutions rather than their own families. However, engaging with family strengthening and family-based alternative care approaches, over time, transformed the way he envisioned their futures, and he subsequently started supporting the reintegration of children with their families.
Navneet Ji has helped reunite 629 children from Bhavnagar with their families. This includes 28 children from other states and 19 from districts within Gujarat. In yet another case, 5 children aged 14–16 from Bhavnagar city, who had been involved in child labour, were rescued by the District Child Protection Unit. Navneet Ji brought them to a CCI, counseled the children and their parents, and successfully reintegrated them with their families. These children are now attending school regularly and performing well under his close monitoring.
In another noteworthy case, Navneet Ji came across a child from Chhotaudepur who was deaf, mute, and had an intellectual disability, making it difficult for him to understand even sign language. Using tools such as social media, Navneet Ji circulated the child’s details and, after 4 months, successfully reunited him with his family, a reunion that had once seemed nearly impossible.
Additionally, Navneet Ji has facilitated the re-enrolment of 48 children who had dropped out of school and has placed 25 children in Anganwadis. He has also helped 112 Children in Street Situations from Bhavnagar obtain birth certificates, ration cards, and Aadhaar cards, and ensured their enrollment in classes under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. With support from the District Child Protection Officer, Navneet Ji has helped 9 care-experienced girls prepare for marriage with dignity, while also ensuring they received the support needed to begin their new journey with security and confidence. He has also provided aftercare support to 7 young people towards skill-training; they are now employed and are earning well.
Looking ahead, Navneet Ji plans to identify children of single parents from the CCIs and reunite them with their families while linking them with sponsorship schemes. He also aims to support children from at-risk families who have passed the 10th grade by enrolling them in Industrial Training Institutes and other suitable educational programs, and to strengthen his work further by collaborating closely with Village Child Protection Committees and Bal Panchayats to focus on family strengthening efforts.