7 kids rescued at rly stn after escaping from Miraj madarsa

They are thought to be from Bihar’s Bhagalpur, and are currently with the CWC.

The ugly face of children being harassed in the name of education at various fake madrasas across the state has come to fore yet again, after as many as seven children ran away from one such place and were rescued by an NGO from Pune railway station on Thursday afternoon.

The children were then sent to a shelter home in Talegaon by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

While it continues to be a mystery as to how children in such large numbers are being brought in from Bihar, the seven kids in the latest case were also discovered to be natives of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district.

Ha Noi (VIET NAM), 23 August, 2018 – UNICEF and the French Embassy in Viet Nam have signed an agreement to officialize their collaboration to improve international adoption standards in Viet Nam. The two-year project will help to strengthen the legal and policy framework on adoption. It will also support a pilot project in two provinces on intercountry adoption in compliance with the international standards defined in the 1993 Hague Adoption Convention. Finally the project will help build capacity of agencies and organizations working on adoption, including on monitoring and supervision through training on alternative care and adoption processes and procedures.

“Viet Nam has ratified the Hague Convention in 2011 and the authorities have committed to ensure that intercountry adoption is done in an ethical and transparent manner giving paramount consideration to the best interests of children,” said Youssouf Abdel-Jelil, UNICEF Representative in Viet Nam.

“Despite progress, the child protection system in the country is still nascent and intercountry adoption in Viet Nam still faces several gaps and challenges to meet international standards.”

The Intercountry Adoption Service of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs supports the Vietnamese central authority on this path as Viet Nam is the first country of origin in terms of adoption for France. In order to implement the three parts of the project, the Intercountry Adoption Service has allocated to UNICEF EUR 100,000 for two years which will fund activities with different government agencies in charge of intercountry adoption in Viet Nam and to pilot a high-quality operational model of intercountry adoption in Ho Chi Minh City and in Da Nang.

UNICEF’s work in Viet Nam focuses on building and strengthening the child protection system, working with government partners, UN agencies and civil society to ensure that a robust legal and policy framework is in place for the protection of children and to build capacity of the social welfare, justice and law enforcement sectors.

UDALGURI: A meeting to create awareness among the common people on child adoption was held in the Udalguri Civil hospital premise recently.

Udalguri district child protection officer Gautam Saharia explained the purpose of child adoption and its impacts on society. Lipika Barman moderated the awareness meeting.

Senior advocate Jayanta Brahma apprised the gathering of the provisions of law on child adoption.

The awareness campaign was aimed at easing out the present situation of vulnerability of children and to bring them to notice of the public for illegal adoption, its punitive measures and not to abandon children anywhere. The meeting was also attended by Dr. S R Dey, the Superintendent of Udalguri Civil Hospital, Udalguri OC Narayan Patangia, Buddha Basumatary, among others. The ASHA workers, gaon burahs and VDP organizations also took part at the meeting.

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Spanish couple abandon adopted Indian child, Bhopal agency under the scanner

SANYA DHINGRA 22 August, 2018

Shelter home allegedly misled parents on age of children; Italian couple also writes to Indian authorities against agency.

New Delhi: A Spanish couple has reportedly abandoned a girl they adopted from an agency in Madhya Pradesh after they were allegedly deceived about her age, the latest in a spate of controversies plaguing shelter homes across the country.

The case is the second such instance involving Udaan, a Bhopal-based Special Adoption Agency (SAA), which has also been accused by an Italian couple of providing them with “misleading” health and age information about a girl they had adopted.

A case of 2 lakh ‘missing’ children

Disparity in survey data submitted in SC

Discrepancies in two government-commissioned surveys, both a year apart, submitted in the Supreme Court show that over two lakh children, said to be residing in childcare homes, are “missing.”

A 2016-17 survey, commissioned by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, shows that 4.73 lakh children reside in care homes nationwide. However, the number of children in care homes came down to 2.61 lakh in the data submitted by the Centre before the Supreme Court in March 2018. The data were gathered by the Centre from the States.

‘Very disturbing’

A case of 2 lakh ‘missing’ children

Disparity in survey data submitted in SC

Discrepancies in two government-commissioned surveys, both a year apart, submitted in the Supreme Court show that over two lakh children, said to be residing in childcare homes, are “missing.”

A 2016-17 survey, commissioned by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, shows that 4.73 lakh children reside in care homes nationwide. However, the number of children in care homes came down to 2.61 lakh in the data submitted by the Centre before the Supreme Court in March 2018. The data were gathered by the Centre from the States.

‘Very disturbing’

TISS which had conducted the social audit had found that sexual abuse of varying forms was prevalent in almost all shelter homes in Bihar.

Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai founded Malala Fund in 2013 to champion every girl's right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. (Photo: File | AP)

Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai founded Malala Fund in 2013 to champion every girl's right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education. (Photo: File | AP)

New Delhi: The Malala Fund on Wednesday said it is suspending its grants to Sakhi and Nari Gunjan, two organisations named in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' (TISS) social audit report of short stay homes across Bihar with immediate effect.

TISS which had conducted the social audit had found that sexual abuse of varying forms and degree of intensity was prevalent in almost all shelter homes in Bihar.

Shelter home,Infants,Jharkhand

The administration has set up a medical team to investigate into exact cause of the death. (Representative photo)

Two infants, including a six-month-old girl rescued by the Ranchi child welfare committee (CWC) from a Missionaries of Charity-run shelter home in wake of an alleged baby selling incident, died at government-aided Sahyog Village shelter home in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, officials said on Monday.

The Khunti CWC identified the six-month-old as Palo Tuti. The other four-month-old baby’s identity is yet to be ascertained, as she was reportedly left by an unwed mother at Sahyog village.

Khunti deputy development commissioner (DDC) CK Mandal said: “Both the babies were ill and we admitted them to a hospital couple of days back. But, they could not survive and died on Sunday. Hospital authorities said that they died due to prolonged illness.”

China child trafficking

A young couple from eastern China’s Hubei province, who sold their baby girl online for ?65,000, has brought the country’s child trafficking battle to the forefront again. The case further highlights a rejection to the country’s latest push for its people to bare more children.

The accused, 19-year-old Gao and his partner, 20-year-old Zhang, sold their baby girl, through an agent, Zhu, from Hunan province, who they had contacted online. After finding a buyer for the child, Zhu pocketed ?20,000 as his fee. Information regarding the case came from a Xishui police report released via Weibo (Chinese Twitter).

South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports the couple were under financial pressure, as they already had a 1-year-old son to take care of and could not afford another. Gao, a takeaway delivery driver, and his partner Zhang, together with agent Zhu have all been detained and are awaiting trial. No report has been released that states whether the buyer of the child had been contacted.

As stated by SCMP, authoritative measures see to it first as to whether the child, who has been sold, has other relatives who are willing to take care of the infant. If in the event there is no family or the family refuse, then the next step is usually adoption.

Caroline Boudreaux at an orphanage.

Caroline Boudreaux at an orphanage.

We’ve all been at that precipice where disillusionment settles like an unshakeable cloak over the psyche. Ordinary tasks become gargantuan mountains to climb. And hope seems illusive. Yet, there are some that have the gumption to extricate themselves from all self doubt, and see the nadir as a point where they can rise up from, and make something beautiful out of. It’s responsible living, and Caroline Boudreaux, founder of the Miracle Foundation and the winner of the United Nations Humanitarian Award 2017 is a proponent of such change. Among the fortunate few who found her life’s calling at the height of professional success — a handsomely paying job, where Caroline found herself discontented, unfulfilled and looking for meaning. A visit to India, a hapless child she met at Odisha and the decrepit state of Indian orphanages and parentless children shocked her, and Caroline started Miracle Foundation. “The day was auspicious — it was Mother’s Day. I decided I had to do something to help children. I simply could not go on with my life as if they didn’t exist. I couldn’t un-see what I had seen. The idea for the Miracle Foundation was born that day. Every child, every miracle deserves the foundation of a family.

Since then — miraculously — people of all ages, all walks of life, and all socio-economic backgrounds have joined us. Together, we’re giving a loving family and personalised care to thousands of orphaned children,” enthuses Boudreaux. The warmth in her demeanour as she mingles with children, goes about her day’s work is apparent, and the conviction that children are the future is what eggs this kindhearted soul who was categorised among the most impactful non-profit leaders in the US and India. Of the moniker, she enthuses, “We’re categorised as one of the most impactful non-profits as we have a proven methodology that works. We show donors that their investments are going into the minds, mouths and stomachs of the children we serve, and our earnest work has paid off. Bill Gates said it best, ‘All lives, no matter where lived, are of equal value.’ Miracle Foundation isn’t working in India because India has a bigger problem. It works in India because this is where we started. All children deserve the love of a family. We’re working with organisations all over the world to make sure children have a family, not an orphanage and not a state to look after them. They need families, no matter where they live. My favourite change about India is her youth. They get it. They know and want to change the plight of the poor.”

Interacting with children