Kerala: 48 children get families'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Six-year-old Manju (name changed) would have ended up in a crammed destitute home when her parents passed away, but luckily she found foster parents through the scheme of District Child Protection Unit. On Saturday when she came to attend a gathering of foster children and parents at Poojappura Children’s Home, she would not leave the side of an elderly couple who looks after her now. They kept on landing kisses on her cheek whenever she whispered childish queries into their ears. Thanks to the foster
care scheme, around 48 children including teenagers were saved from crammed destitute homes by foster families in Thiruvananthapuram.

“Many children cannot be given for adoption due to legal issues, and some may have broken families. They are fostered by compassionate families who would support them until they are adults. Further, the bond can continue if the child still loves that family,” said K.K. Subair, the district child protection officer. “In certain cases, children may have surviving family members. Once in two months, they are allowed to meet them there. They will be sent to schools their foster parents choose. Every six months, we take feedback from both children and parents.”

In countries like Sweden and Japan, all needy children are united with foster families instead of being sent to children’s home. In Kerala around 200 children were joined to foster homes in past four years. Applications for foster parents will be called this December and over 100 needy children from 33 organisations in the capital are expected to find adoptive families. Apart from a long-term individual foster care scheme, up to eight children can be fostered by a single family under group foster care scheme. There is school vacation plan. Similarly, children who are awaiting adoption can be brought up under the foster scheme until they find new parents. On Saturday, foster parents and children were given separate counselling sessions to cope up with each other well.