The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : For them it is a home, not orphanage

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Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

For them it is a home, not orphanage

By Ramya Kannan

One-year-old Abhinaya in the Cuddalore tsunami orphanage reaches out to visitors. She has endeared herself to other children in the home. — Photo: S. R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI, FEB. 1. At the entrance to the single-storey structure that stands in for a special home for tsunami orphans at Cuddalore, two small girls are bidding goodbye to an elderly woman they call "Amma." Outside the door, nervously biting his nails, stands the father of Vijitha and Vijayashree, waiting to take his daughters home for the weekend.

For the children, clearly, the orphanage is their home. Four days after December 26 last, they found a home, a "mother" and brothers and sisters. With the ease most children are used to, they have settled down in the new establishment, fusing with the mood of happiness and belonging that seem to emanate from the `temporary' homes.

Government orphanages were set up in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam and Kanyakumari districts to take care of children who found themselves without support. It was decided that the homes would take in "complete orphans" (children who lost both parents) and "semi-orphans" (those having only one surviving parent).

In Nagapattinam district, 958 children lost one parent and 194 lost both. While most of them were taken care of by the community or relatives, the Annai Sathya Government Orphanage opened its doors to 99 children who had nowhere else to go.

In the Cuddalore home, the first to be set up post-tsunami, 40 children have taken refuge, 18 of them complete orphans. The youngest member is one-year-old Abhinaya, who was found lying in a clump of bushes four days after December 26. Her mother, who was swept away by the tsunami, had in an attempt to save her daughter flung her on to the bushes. Luckily for her, the child survived, was rescued and admitted to the orphanage. She is now the darling of the home, says its superintendent, T. Leela.

"Things are a little different with these children. Some of them have lived in reasonable comfort. The tsunami was a sudden jolt for them. However, they have settled down faster than we expected," she adds. They have had adequate support in terms of counselling, provided by the state and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), says the Nagapattinam Collector, J. Radhakrishnan.

Besides Rs. 5 lakhs the state deposited in bank in the name of each orphan, individuals and NGOs have been generous in providing clothes, milk and play materials. Plans are afoot to build better buildings for the orphanages.

Adoption requests

The Cuddalore Collector, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, said an issue the district had to tackle rather firmly were requests for adoptions.

"We put up the pictures of children on the website and also the procedure that must be followed. This, however, has not deterred sympathetic families from writing wanting to know when they can come and take a baby home with them.

"We have received several requests from well-meaning people, wondering if they could adopt the children. But at the moment, it is not an option. It is not possible to fast-track the process," Dr. Radhakrishnan said.

The short-term strategy would be to provide the children basic comforts and education and the policy decision would be taken later.

A happy lot

The children are happy to belong to the families that have formed among the bunch thrown together by a tragedy they are unable to comprehend. It is because of this bonding that Vijitha and Vijayashree bend down to kiss Abhinaya before they run out to their waiting father.

"Just a minute, Appa. We want to kiss our pappa (baby) before we leave," Vijitha says. The man continues to stand outside.

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