There’s no feeling quite as exhilarating as that of seeing families reunite,” says Zaheer Abbas, head of the Child Protection and Welfare Bureau’s Family Tracing Unit.

A bearded man in his 40s, Abbas relates how a boy reunited with his parents after staying at the facility for almost seven years. “He had initially kept details about his family from us. Later, he began to open up, and eventually told us about his father’s workplace. When our team members took him there, he met with someone who instantly recognised him and helped us connect with the boy’s family. The reunion was overwhelming.”

Sara Ahmed, the CWPB chairperson, tells TNS that every year the bureau rescues over 600 missing or abandoned children through a legal process. “When the children are brought to the bureau, the first step is to obtain their legal custody from the Child Protection Court. Once the custody is established, the process of rehabilitation begins. Boys and girls are placed in separate hostels, which we call Child Protection Institutes,” she says.

Technology is used to trace families, even in other provinces. Social media comes in handy too. Waseem Abbas, a public relations officer at the CPWB, says, “When we don’t get any information related to a child’s family, we circulate their photo and basic information on Facebook, WhatsApp groups, and among community representatives.

“The process can sometimes take long. We’ve had cases where, after two or three years of continuous efforts, the reunification finally happened,” the official adds.

10-year-old Shazia’s is one such case. Three years ago, the minor went missing from Data Darbar where she had gone with her family. She landed at the CPWB. It was only recently that the organisation advertised about her on social media and a resident of Data Nagar happened to notice her photo and informed her parents. Overnight, the girl had reunited with her parents.

“All these years we never shut the door of our house,” says a wistful Sughra Bibi, Shazia’s mother. “We are poor and uneducated people. We had no idea that such a [facility] existed. Had we known [about it], we’d have found our daughter much earlier.”

According to Abbas, most children at the CPWB come from poor households where they aren’t properly taken care of. The CPWB works under the Punjab Destitute and Neglected Children Act, 2004. It covers children who run away, go missing, are found begging in the streets or working in harsh conditions and those being trafficked or facing abuse.

In some cases, DNA testing may be ordered by the court in order to confirm parentage. “The objective is to make sure every [rescued] child is safely reintegrated in their family or, where that is not possible, provided with shelter, education and care.”

He mentions two key ways in which the children are rescued. First, field operations are carried out, in which each team is assigned specific areas. They conduct surveillance and rescue operations. Second, public engagement is invited through the helpline 1121. “If anyone spots a vulnerable child, we expect them to call on 1121. A CPWB team will reach the spot and rescue the child,” Abbas adds. “Sometimes, the police recover children and hand them over to the bureau.”

The children are kept at the CPWB temporarily — that is, till their families are located. But some of them stay on for long, particularly in cases where their parents cannot be traced or when the children don’t disclose information about them. Counselling sessions are arranged with psychologists for such children.

Abbas mentions a girl child who stayed at the bureau for five years. “Initially, she was hesitant to share information about her family, but after extensive counselling, she gave us her father’s phone number.”

Sometimes the children only remember minor things, such as a bus stop or a landmark in their vicinity. If leads are found, efforts are begun to connect the child with their parents.

In some cases, DNA tests may be ordered by the court in order to confirm parentage. “The objective is to make sure every rescued child is safely reintegrated in their family or, where that is not possible, provided with shelter, education, and care.”

Abbas talks of instances where the children returned to the bureau after they had being handed over to their families. “They said we were taking better care of them,” Abbas says.

There are follow-up cases, too. Abbas says, “After a child is handed over to their parents, the court requires us to check back in a six months’ time. The idea is to ensure that the child is doing well. It’s a continuous process.”

Currently, the CPWB operates in 17 districts of the Punjab. Plans are afoot to expand it to all 36 districts. Ahmed says, “We are working with the government to open centres in every district of Punjab. That will be a big milestone.”

Ahsan Raza is the editor of Minute Mirror. He can be reached at ahsanbudh@hotmail.com