Illustration: J.A. Premkumar.

Illustration: J.A. Premkumar.

50 destitute children were forced to sleep 10 to a bed, fed just two meagre meals

Fifty children, many of them six years or younger, were rescued from an illegal orphanage-cum-school in Pasighat town of Arunachal Pradesh.

Though the illegal home in a ramshackle bamboo-and-thatch structure had been in operation since February this year, it was only after former employees complained to the East Siang district’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC) last month that its presence was noted by authorities.

Illustration: TAPAS RANJANBy Donita JoseExpress News Service

HYDERABAD: Legal adoption in the state has become difficult after the reorganisation of districts. Shishu Gruhas, which facilitate adoption of and support to abandoned and orphaned babies aged below 6 years, are still only 11 in number and all of them are situated at the headquarters of the erstwhile districts. Child welfare experts say that the centres, apart from lacking accessibility, do not have enough staff and facilities, and the way they are operated causes confusion.

These centres are said to be inaccessible to a large chunk of the population. This has resulted in babies landing in illegal trafficking network. Achyutha Rao, a child rights activist of Balala Hakkula Sangham, explained that some parents wishing to abandon their children due to some disability or disease and if they cannot travel to a centre, they would simply end up selling the child to a trafficker.

“It can be very hard for a parent living deep inside a rural area to travel to the Shishu Gruha that is closest to him or her. We have observed that parents simply abandon their child without support or, worse, sell it to a trafficker if this distance is too much of a trouble for them,” he said.

Battle just begins

Child welfare committees have been instructed to inspect foster homes every month for the first three months and then after every six months, NCPCR said, amid a rise in incidents of sexual abuse of children at child care institutions.

The National Commission For Protection of Child Rights has come up with a user guide in collaboration with Centre Of Excellence in Alternative Care (India) to boost foster care system in the country.

The manual is aimed at giving a clear understanding of what foster families are and ways to benefit children who are under institutional care, according to an NCPCR official.

"India faces a greater challenge in deinstitutionalisation because of its size, geography, economy and the fact that foster care is a fairly recent development. It is therefore important to develop a model of foster care that works for India," the official said.

The guidebook comes in the backdrop of reports of sexual abuse of children at child care institutions across the country.

Himanshu and Kavita adopted Veda when she was a 14-month-old babyBy Roshne BalasubramanianExpress News Service

CHENNAI: The first Indian couple to adopt a child with Down syndrome (DS)are here in the city,” said an acquaintance over the phone. After a quick call with Kavita Baluni, who, a year ago, became mother to a 14-month-old baby girl with the genetic disorder, we were at a mutually decided coordinate, a coffee shop in Alwarpet.

After finding ourselves a quiet corner in the cafe, we waited for the Delhi-based family to arrive. Five minutes later, a coo followed by a string of gurgles grabbed our attention. Wrapped in her father Himanshu Kaktwan’s arms, Veda, the two-and-a-half-year-old toddler wearing an elephant print romper, with an infectious smile, waved at us. With Veda’s constant happy gurgles in the background, our conversation with the couple, who were in the city to visit the Down Syndrome Federation of India in Mylapore, began.

They were invited by Rekha Ramachandran, co-founder of the Down Syndrome Federation of India, for a Down syndrome assessment, screening, and to discuss about early intervention services for Veda. “We met a lot of children with DS in the federation and were able to find out what kind of support is available for children with trisomy 21 and their families. The awareness in the city about the condition is more than what is in the North and we were able to talk to doctors and other healthcare experts who were well informed about the disorder.”

Even before Kavita and Himanshu officially tied the knot, the duo had decided to opt for adoption. “Having a biological child was never on my mind. I have always wanted to adopt. During my courtship period with Himanshu, we had spoken about it. He was on the same page, but we decided to take the decision when the time was right,” says Kavita. A conscious decision and destiny — a bit of both happened to the couple. “During our two-year stay in the USA, we met children with Down syndrome and gathered a lot of information about it.

BHOPAL: Seven-year-old Vidya, who was found abandoned in Chh ..

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District collector Pravin Kumar hands over baby Sarayu for adoption to Vennisa Christina Sathur from Spain at his office in Vizag on Tuesday. (Photo: DC)

District collector Pravin Kumar hands over baby Sarayu for adoption to Vennisa Christina Sathur from Spain at his office in Vizag on Tuesday. (Photo: DC)

Visakhapatnam: A two-year-old orphan girl child from Visakhapatnam has found a new home in Spain. A single woman from Spain adopted a two-year-old girl child from Visakhapatnam here on Tuesday. After the rules and regulation as per the guidelines of the Central Adoption Resource Authority followed, district collector Pravin Kumar handed over the girl child to Vennisa Christina Sathur, a Spain citizen. District Child Protection Officer A. Satyanarayana was also present. The girl child’s name is Sarayu.

He said the woman had applied seeking adoption through online platform of the CARA. In 2016-17, Americans, Italians and Spanish nationals adopted most Indian children. According to Child Protection officials, the changes made two years ago has made little easier for foreign nationals to adopt special needs and older children, who are now moved sooner to the list of prospective adoptive children for foreign nationals if they are not picked for adoption by Indian nationals after a specified period of time.

Moreover, the Foreign Ministry is no longer insisting on a separate birth certificate to issue a passport to an adopted child. The court order which is necessary for adoption will suffice as proof of birth date. Instead of running from pillar to post to obtain a birth certificate, especially for orphans and abandoned children, foreigners can get an Indian passport for their adopted children based only on the court order.

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.

CPV) - 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.

Source: UNICEF

“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.

As many as 445 children have found a new life through inter-country adoptions this year.

Representational image

Representational image

Hyderabad: Couples from the US, Italy and Spain have adopted 50 per cent of children given in inter-country adoptions over a five year period. Girl children continue to be more preferred. Since 2013, the rate of adoption by couples in the three countries, France, the UAE, Canada and the UK have seen an increase. In 2013-14, US families adopted over 160 Indian children which dipped to 138 but rose to 222 and 213 in the subsequent years and 203 so far in 2018.

Similarly, Spanish couples adopted 43 Indian children in 2013, the numbers rising to 56 and 64 in the subsequent years. The number then fell to 61 but Spanish couples have adopted 66 children so far this year. As many as 445 children have found a new life through inter-country adoptions this year.

‘Nagaland stepping out of customary to legal adoption’

Advisor, Department of Social Welfare, Child Services, Noke Konyak launching the video on adoption and Radio Jingles on Friday. (Morung Photo)

Department of Social Welfare, Child Services launches video and Radio Jingles on legal adoption

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Kohima | August 31