The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare has set an example by completing the adoption process of 34 children during the current year in a transparent manner, council general secretary S.P. Deepak has said.
The current administrative council, which came into power on January 1, ensured utmost transparency process even while setting an all-time record in terms of adoption, Mr. Deepak said. Of those who have been adopted included 17 girls and 17 boys, Mr. Deepak said, according to a statement.
It was also for the first time, since the 1990s, that the council had ensured the adoption of as many as four children by couples from foreign countries. These included the twins Veni and Rani, who were adopted by a couple from New Zealand, and Navitha and Riya, who were adopted by families from the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates respectively.
The council was nearing the completion of formalities pertaining to the adoption of other children, Chaithanya, Sidharth, Chand, Honey and Divyendu, who would soon leave with their adopted families to countries including France, United States of America and Italy, he said.
It was only a few days ago that the council handed over a five-month-old child Ishika to Ullas and Rani Unni, a teacher-couple from Thrissur, one-and-a-half-year-old Yami to Suresh and Manila from Sasthamcotta, and another child Riya to UAE-based engineers Amar Hassan and Smitha, during a function that was inaugurated by District Collector K. Vasuki.
49 children under care
Mr. Deepak also said the council had taken custody of a total of 49 children, including 13 found abandoned from the various ‘ammathottils,’ since January this year. Many among them were found from the ‘ammathottil’ in Thiruvananthapuram.
He added that the council had obtained licence under the Juvenile Justice Act to upgrade the Child Protection Centre at Kalampady in Malappuram as an adoption centre.
Efforts were on to transform the unit as a major adoption centre in North Kerala with modernised facilities.