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| Freedom Song: A little planning by the government can ensure a future for orphaned children. |
“New-born baby found in a bag on a train”; “Baby found in a garbage dump”; “Baby sold for Rs 500”; “Remains of a baby half-eaten by dogs found outside a nursing home”— all newspaper headlines.
The list goes on and on. Disturbing, moving, unsettling, upsetting, heart wrenching, to me at least, though I suspect a large majority of people have somehow got immune to such news.
There is no point in getting sanctimonious and blaming the helpless mother, who, due to social compunctions (being an unwed mother) or economic deprivation, had to abandon her child.
If only there was more awareness about recognised and licensed adoption agencies, where these children could be left, more lives could be saved. Let me tell you about an interesting incident that occurred soon after I moved to Ranchi six years ago. A paediatrician friend who knew that I had previously worked with adoptions, referred a daily wage labourer to me. He used to take his children to the free clinic run by this doctor.
The labourer and his wife had a son aged four years, a daughter aged two years, and then had twin girls. It was one of these twins that the parents wanted to give up for adoption. I tried dissuading them from giving up their child, but no amount of counselling would get them to change their mind. They were resolute — one child they would definitely give up.
It was not just financial insecurity, as I did offer to get them sponsorship for the upkeep of the twins, to ensure that they are not separated and could both live with the parents. But according to them, it was impossible for the mother to look after four children on her own while the father went out in search of work everyday.
They were adamant about giving up one twin and my arguments against separating the twins came to naught.
“We want to keep one child and will definitely give up one so that she can have a better life.” Having failed in my endeavour to convince the parents to not give up their child, and rather than risk having them abandon their child just anywhere, I decided to find out what could be done. There was no licensed adoption agency here in Jharkhand apart from the Missionaries of Charity, and the parents did not want to give the child up there.
After discussing the case with administrative officials concerned, the Social Welfare Department, and a lawyer, the parents were informed that they could relinquish their child at any registered/licensed adoption agency in any of the neighbouring states.
The father took his child and did just that.
Recently, I learnt that the said baby had been adopted by a couple living abroad. The photograph of her with her new family brought tears to my eyes. Fate is a strange thing — one twin in Jharkhand, and the other abroad, but thank God she was alive and doing well!
Hats off to these parents, poor and illiterate, they did not just abandon their child, or sell her or kill her. They made an effort to find a reliable alternative, came for innumerable counselling sessions and took the trouble of going all the way to another state to give up their child at a place where she would get a better life. Kudos to them! Here in Jharkhand, the government must get its licensing policy for adoption in place as soon as possible, help NGOs set up adoption agencies legally, and a scrutiny committee must be formed to monitor all adoption cases in the state, and awareness about the same must be spread.
The need of the hour is to create awareness throughout the country as well, about bona fide placement agencies, who help childless couples adopt children legally, and where mothers/families who are unable to keep their children for whatever reason, can, on signing a relinquishment document, give up their child for rehabilitation.
If they fear social stigma, the baby can be left in a cot placed outside the agency (like palna in Delhi). A childless couple will get a first shot at becoming parents and the child will get a second chance at life.