LDF government asks welfare institutions for wish-list

Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has decided to spruce up all its welfare institutions. The Social Security Mission, under the Social Justice Department, has asked children's homes, old age homes, home for the mentally challenged and women's homes, all welfare homes under its charge, to provide a wish list of services they want in the homes. “This might look unbelievably generous at a time when the state is passing through a severe fiscal crisis,” a top Social Justice official said. “Actually, it is a smart idea because we havce called for the list following the government strategy to rope in NGOs and even corporate bodies for the running of these homes,” he added.

The homes have been encouraged to prepare the list without any inhibition, without bothering themselves with issues like finance. “We have not prepared a questionnaire as is normally done. We have asked the officials of these homes to put their heads together, take inputs from the inmates, and come out with as useful and exhaustive a list as possible,” the official said.  A sample list, too, has been put out by the Mission. Old age homes, for instance, have been asked to seek personalised care for the bedridden, palliative care and also the services of physiotherapists, yoga experts, barbers and even manicure and pedicure specialists.

“At present, our old age homes are dull places where death is the only thing the inmates could hope for. It should transform into a place where these men and women could make a new beginning,” the official said. As for children's homes, the superintendents have been asked to demand facilities normal children possess as a matter of right; special tuition, music and art classes, computer training, sports and vocational training. “Perhaps, they can ask for a film production unit,” the official said. Homes for the mentally challenged can ask for quality education assistance, vocational training, music and arts training and computer classes.