Arun Kumar | September 25, 2015
An NGO called ‘Palna’ has been cradling abandoned, destitute, physically or mentally challenged children for decades. Set up in 1978, the NGO is run by the Delhi council for child welfare (DCCW). A cradle is kept near the entrance of the orphanage in north Delhi where parents leave their unwanted newborns. The infants are usually in precarious health with low birth weight, hypothermia, trauma and congenital defects. Embracing these children, the NGO nurtures them by providing round-the-clock medical facilities, healthy diet and, as they grow up, non-formal educational sessions. On average, Palna looks after 90-100 children daily ranging in age from new-borns to eight-year-olds. The NGO also has an adoption centre and children are given for adoption only after a thorough background check of the prospective parents. Palna also has a special centre to look after differently-abled children. Children with special needs find a safe haven in Palna as they are unlikely to be taken up for adoption. Others, when they turn eight, are sent to an orphanage if they are not adopted. So far, Palna has placed over 2,800 children in loving families. Aware of the social taboo in the country regarding adoption, Palna is also open for adoption by foreign families.
The other side
Despite revised guidelines which make the adoption process hassle-free and transparent there has been a decline in the adoption rate in the country.
5,693
Children adopted in 2010
5,964
Children adopted in 2011
4,694
Children adopted during 2012-13
3,924
Children adopted during 2013-14
3,988
Children adopted between April 2014 and March 2015
Source: CARA
Photos by Arun Kumar
The Gandhian movement in India, after Gandhi’s death, failed, says Ramachandra Guha, and blames Vinoba Bhave for it. But the movement found new, fertile grounds around the world and succeeded in bringing about a change in South Africa, the US and elsewhere. It is high time it returned home. Of cour
Tavleen Singh, noted journalist and political commentator, has turned to fiction, with her debut novel ‘The Actor’ (HaperCollins India). Set in the near future, it has a superstar, Amit Singh, turning to politics, when the political landscape is dominated by prime minister Guru Gaynendraj
The union cabinet, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Tuesday approved the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), called Integrated Transport & Logistics Authority (ITLA), to strengthen research, planning, appraisal, monitoring and impact assessment within the broad domains of Transp
Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) are often described as the building blocks of education. Yet, their significance goes well beyond a child’s ability to read a sentence, write a response or solve a basic mathematical problem. These foundational skills shape how children understand the world,
For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording
“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli
