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WHY AFTERCARE
WHY AFTERCARE
Children leaving Child Care Institutions (CCIs) often step into adulthood without the necessary exposure, skills, or confidence to navigate the real world. They face unique challenges—limited worldviews, underdeveloped social skills, and low self-belief—that can hinder their progress even after securing a college seat or a job.
Recognizing these gaps, Make A Difference (MAD) initiated the Aftercare Programme to provide sustained personal, financial, and mentoring support. This long-term approach extends up to age 23 for direct support and up to age 28 for mentoring—ensuring that youth are not left alone to figure things out.
Aftercare isn’t just about placements—it’s about helping youth transition into adulthood with the networks, guidance, and confidence needed to thrive.
At its core, Aftercare reflects MAD’s larger vision: to end intergenerational poverty in our lifetime. By walking alongside youth even after institutional care ends, we’re building a bridge to stable, middle-class outcomes and long-term resilience—one young person at a time.
PROGRAMME OUTCOME
PROGRAMME OUTCOME
Goal: The goal of the Aftercare Programme Intervention is to provide support to youth leaving child care institutions to achieve and sustain middle-class outcomes, and prevent them from falling back into the cycle of poverty.
Purpose: The purpose is to build a long term holistic intervention that provides the necessary support, resources, networks, and mentoring for the youth.
Key components: The intervention includes support across multiple areas, including financial stability, education and vocational training, social networks, living conditions and mental and emotional well-being.
Outcome: The intended outcome is for the youth to achieve and sustain middle-class outcomes, which would require stability across all the four broad areas mentioned below,
Personal,
Financial,
Living conditions and
Family
CRITICAL DRIVERS THAT ACTS AS POTENTIAL BARRIER FOR THE YOUTH
CRITICAL DRIVERS THAT ACTS AS POTENTIAL BARRIER FOR THE YOUTH
PRIMARY SOCIAL CHALLENGE WE ARE ADDRESSING
PRIMARY SOCIAL CHALLENGE WE ARE ADDRESSING
India is home to the world’s largest child population, with over 400 million children. Of these, nearly 176 million are considered to need care and protection—including an estimated 31 million orphans, according to UNICEF. Many of these children, whether orphaned or at risk, grow up in Child Care Institutions (CCIs). Unfortunately, most CCIs are under-resourced and primarily focused on meeting basic needs rather than ensuring holistic development or long-term progress. As a result, children raised in such settings often face poor quality of life and limited adult outcomes. With little access to quality education, life skills, emotional support, or financial stability, many of them struggle to transition into independent adulthood. A large number end up in low-paying, unstable jobs—or fall into harmful cycles involving substance abuse, violence, exploitation, or trafficking.
This systemic neglect perpetuates poverty and abandonment across generations, making it clear that without sustained support beyond the institution, these children remain at high risk well into adulthood.
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