Being in a family makes all the difference to them

For the first time, seven-year-old Reshma (name changed) will get to live with a family this vacation.

Rescued from the street by the Special Juvenile Police Unit as a three-year-old in 2014, she has been staying at a child care institute in the district ever since. Her parents still remain untraceable.

Reshma is one of the two children, the other being a seven-year-old boy, to be sent for a two-month stay with a family under the Vacation Foster Care (VFC) project of the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU). They were handed over to the respective families on Friday on receiving the approval of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).

Out of hundreds of inmates of 153 child care institutes in the district, children who either have no families or are not in a position to return to their families this vacation are considered under the project, of course, but subject to their willingness.

Though the VFC project was introduced last year, it did not evoke any response. A year later, things have improved, with the DCPU receiving six applications from interested families by the end of last month. More applications are coming in. The remaining four families are still on the lookout for children of their liking with preference largely for girls aged below 12. Most applicant families have children and yet prefer to participate in the project as an expression of their social commitment.

Verification done

“Our social workers conducted house visits of all the six families and were convinced that their intention was genuine, and that they had the means to ensure the safety and care of the children. Besides, we will undertake follow-up inquiries at least once a week over phone to ensure that the children have a comfortable stay,” District Child Protection Officer K.B. Zaina told The Hindu.

The objective of the project is to give those unfortunate children an opportunity to live in a family atmosphere which may help them integrate with the larger society.

List of children

The DCPU has collected a detailed list of children available under the VFC Project from all child care institutes in the district.

Depending on the preferences of the applicant families, the DCPU arranges for their meetings with the children at the respective child care institutes. In most cases, families undertake multiple visits before they zero in on a child of their preference. Only a childless family, which chose the seven-year-old boy, had made up their mind on the very first visit. Incidentally, he is also the lone boy to be preferred by any applicant family.

Families interested in the VFC Project may contact 0484-2609177 or email to dcpuernakulam@gmail.com