Salaam Baalak Trust is an Indian non-profit and non-governmental organization which provides support for street and working children in the inner cities of New Delhi, and Mumbai. It was established in 1988 with the proceeds from the 1988 film Salaam Bombay! directed by Mira Nair, which was about the lives and vulnerabilities of street children. The name Salaam Baalak Trust translates literally as salute the child. Programs at SBT include repatriation, providing education , basic literacy and schooling, full care facilities for the young , drop-in shelters for older children, physical and mental health care, life-skills education, vocational training, sports, job placement and counselling in HIV/AIDS and TB awareness. Today, SBT runs five 24-hour full care shelters for children, of which two are devoted to girls in Delhi, thirteen contact points mostly near railway stations and a 24-hour toll-free helpline service , catering to children in distress all over India, in all looking after 5,000 children every year. Salaam Baalak Trust children, who have been trained in theatre, dance and puppetry, are giving performances all over the world Since 2007, SBT Delhi is running the City Walk Program, a guided tour through Paharganj and New Delhi Railway Station area. The guides are former street children from the Trust. The walk aims to sensitise participants about street life, street children and Indian society problems; and uniquely engages them in the lives of children in distress. During the Walk, the guides share their personal story of survival with the participants and show them the contact points and shelter homes SBT provides. The walk, thus, also provides an opportunity for the young people to improve their communication and marketing skills. All proceeds go directly to the Trust to enable more opportunities to be made for the children; thus the walk is 100% non-profit making. During 2012-13, under the City Walk Program, about 593 walks were conducted and 4849 people were sensitised from across the world. In addition to the City Walk tour, SBT also offers a Heritage Walk through Old Delhi, showcasing six hidden places, including markets, havelis, and five different religions that have existed in the region since 1638. This walk acquaints tourists with all that has survived in Old Delhi since Shah Jahan, the fifth Mughal Emperor who made Delhi the capital of his empire. The walk takes tourists on a rickshaw ride through the city and lands panoramic views of Old Delhi from a spice market rooftop. It ends in an SBT shelter home for boys to offer a glimpse into what street children have survived through.
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