Ludhiana, 18 October, 2013(Harashraj Singh)-Three-days-old
Ambika, who was abandoned at a carcass dump (called hadda roori in Punjabi) is
the newest member of SGB Bal Ghar, an orphanage run by Swami Ganga Nand
Bhuriwale International Foundation, at Dham Talwandi Khurd, on the outskirts of
the city. Ambika was abandoned at the carcass dump, a wandering ground for
stray dogs, near Sardoolgarh in Mansa, after a few hours of her birth. When
some villagers heard her crying, they rescued her and took her to the civil
hospital in Mansa. She has now reached SGB Bal Ghar that houses 50 children,
eight of who are abandoned babies that reached here in the last two months
alone. According to the NGO members, “The parents usually abandon these
new-born children at garbage dumps, parks, fields, hospitals or other such
places.”
While they may have been dumped by their own kin, the staff
of Bal Ghar tries its best to ensure that these orphaned or abandoned children
get all the required facilities they need.Fifty children, including 44 girls and six boys, are living
at this institution.Of them, 26 children had been abandoned while 24 were
orphaned. 35 children of this institute go to St Kabir Academy, a school run by
Swami Ganga Nand Bhuriwale International Foundation.“More than 130 children of SGB Bal Ghar have been adopted
since 2006. Of them 11 children were adopted by foreigners and NRI couples
living in countries such as the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Spain and Italy,”
said, Kuldeep Singh, secretary of Bal Ghar.
Singh adds, “Ambika is our newest member. Like her,
abandoned children come through a legal process. Our centre is a recognised
Indian Placement Agency, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development.”
Ramanjot Grewal,
adoption coordinator at SGB Bal Ghar, said, “Many people from India and abroad
have registered at our centre for adopting these children. When we get a new
child we put the details online. Foreigners register themselves through
Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA), which is linked with Central
Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). After a couple fulfils all legal criteria,
we allow the adoption of a child.”
The orphanage staff advertises in newspapers, once a child
is brought to the orphanage, to find their biological parents.
Two-and-half-years-old Shruti, an abandoned child, has a
hole in heart. She will soon undergo surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New
Delhi. According to the staff of Bal Ghar, the cost of surgery and treatment
will be between `2.5 lakh - 4.5 lakh. Donors can contact Kuldeep Singh at
97794-00032.
It is a rare scenario when parents who first abandoned their
child come back to take them home. Once an unmarried mother, who had abandoned
her baby boy at SGB Bal Ghar, came back to take him home.
Arvind Kumar, a member of SGB Bal Ghar said, “A young
unmarried girl had abandoned her baby boy, a few months ago. She had an affair
with a local youth but their parents were not in favour of their marriage and
neither wanted to keep the child. After realising that they had made a huge
mistake, the couple got married against their families wish and after one-and-a
half-month they took their child back by fulfilling the required process.”
Arvind added that the orphanage staff waited for the parents
of these abandoned children for up to two months. After that period, the
adoption process with the interested couples was started.
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