Pune, 16th October 2023: Imagine being a child, abandoned for months or years on end, living in a shelter, not knowing if you will get the chance to have a family of your own. Unfortunately, this isn’t mere imagination for lakhs of children. The reality of abandonment As per recent data, an alarming 3.5 to 4 lakh(1) children in India are living in child shelters, formally known as Child Care Institutions (CCIs). While this number is significant, what’s even more startling is that out of these children, only 2,000(2) are part of the legal adoption pool. This disparity becomes even more poignant when you consider that there are over 34,000(2) parents eagerly waiting to adopt and provide a nurturing home to these children. To grasp the magnitude of this issue, imagine nearly the entire population of a city like Ahmednagar, filled with children, and yet only a minuscule fraction is available for adoption. Why is this the case? This series of articles, brought to you by Where Are India’s Children (WAIC), seeks to delve deeper into this pressing issue.
The plight behind closed doors Within the walls of these shelters, children, despite the best efforts, often find themselves wrestling with their hopes and the haunting feeling of abandonment. They are at a heightened risk of abuse, malnutrition, and various medical and emotional issues. The love, warmth, and opportunities that a permanent family brings are beyond their reach. Adoptive parents understand firsthand the impact that living in an institutional setting for an extended stay has on children. Neha explains, “When we adopted our son at five years old, the scars of his years in a shelter were painfully evident. Abandoned at birth, he spent every single day of his life within the confines of institutional walls. While the shelter did their best, they had limited resources, so he was robbed of simple joys like playing in a playground or visiting a store. His young life, marred by bureaucratic delays and the pandemic, made him a shadow of what a child his age should be.” And what of the 34,000+ prospective adoptive parents, registered and waiting eagerly to provide a loving home to a child? WAIC hears stories every day from prospective adoptive parents such as Pooja, “I’ve waited three years, my heart aching, yearning for a child’s laughter in our home. Knowing countless children are waiting for a family’s love, while my arms remain empty, is a pain beyond words. Why is love kept apart?”
Where Are India’s Children (WAIC): Bridging the gap Formed by three adoptive parents in 2019, WAIC, registered as Child Welfare and Action Foundation, is working tirelessly to bridge this gap. Says Smriti Gupta, CoFounder: “We witnessed the abyss between the abandoned children and the awaiting families and decided to act.” Their vision is clear: “Ensure every eligible abandoned, orphaned, and surrendered child is made visible, and reaches the legal adoption pool.” But what’s keeping these children from reaching the adoption pool? While the Juvenile Justice Act and Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) set a robust legal framework for the adoption of children, the ground reality paints a different picture. Many abandoned and orphaned children in shelters, who could be eligible for adoption, remain invisible and unevaluated due to a lack of resources, lack of law implementation and enforcement, ambiguities in the legalities of child abandonment, and the general public’s unawareness about the adoption rights of these children
Take Prashant for example. In the heart of a bustling city, Prashant, a 6-year-old, was left to fend for himself. Fortune led him to the gates of a child shelter, where one might hope a child like him could expect a new beginning with one of the many thousands of parents who are willing to give a child a loving family. But as days turned to months, Prashant became just another face among the crowded shelter. The very hands meant to guide him to a loving home, never got around to evaluating his case for adoption eligibility. The absence of scrutiny or enforcement meant Prashant’s dreams of family meals and bedtime stories faded away. Instead, he was left to navigate the hard-knock world of institutional life, his potential and hopes dimming with each passing day. Another example is young Ruchi, who sadly lost her parents. Seeking solace and protection, her aunt, overwhelmed by her own struggles, placed her in a shelter. Every evening, Ruchi would sit by the window, eyes scanning the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of her aunt returning for her. But no one ever came. And amidst the shelter’s paperwork, Ruchi’s file grew dustier each day. Her aunt imagined she would be cared for, but the very fact that she had an aunt somewhere out there became her tether and chain. The route to match her with a waiting family never arose since the shelter where she was staying was confused by which legal route to take. And so, Ruchi remained, her heart holding onto memories and dreams, while the possibilities of a loving home seemed to drift further away.