After being enlivened with the laughter of four-and-a-half-year-old Salma (name changed) for nearly two months, Bijila Vinod’s house at Kadavanthra has suddenly fallen silent.
The family is yet to recover from the return of the foster child to the child care institute. Salma was brought home under the District Child Welfare Committee’s Vacation Foster Care (VFC) programme.
“We would like to bring her back next vacation as well. But, the pain of separation on both sides at the end of it is something beyond description,” said an emotionally shaken Ms. Vinod, an employee with the Kerala Water Authority, after being told by the institute authorities that the child was found crying on the night of her return.
Salma was the youngest of the 17 children sent to foster homes during this vacation and she had experienced parental care for the first time.
“I think she genuinely believes that we are her real parents,” said Ms. Vinod, whose boundless love for children prompted her to foster a child despite her being the mother of a nine-year-old boy.
Almost all parents who brought home children under VFC had similar sentiments to share. Jessy David, a retiree from BSNL with two married children and grandchildren, chose to foster a nine-year-old girl out of her desire to be part of a noble initiative and to use her time for the well-being of a child.
“She was reluctant during the initial couple of weeks to address us as mom and dad as she was asked. She especially maintained a distance from my husband, which we later came to know was borne out of her bad experience at her home. But, she gradually overcame those inhibitions and became close to both of us,” said Ms. David.
Manitha B. Nair, a nano scientist and associate professor at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, fought back a lot of dissuasion in bringing home a 11-year-old girl, thus fulfilling her long-cherished wish of fostering a child.
“Many people discouraged us, advising us to avoid unnecessary ‘risk’ and avoidable attachment with a child who may be hurt when she had to return. But, all those predictions proved misplaced as it turned out to be a memorable experience,” said Ms. Nair, who is the mother of two children. The girl also had a good time as she explored a hitherto unknown world as the family took her to new places, movies, and dinner, while she became the beloved elder sister to the two children.
“We received amazing feedback from the parents at a gathering we organised for the children and their foster parents last Saturday,” District Child Protection Officer K.B. Zaina told The Hindu.
“Eleven girls and six boys aged between four and 16 years and have been with seven child care institutes in the district for an average of five years benefited from the programme. Of them, two children, a 11-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy, were left with the institutes at the age of one and four respectively and their parents never came back,” said M.K.P. Hafzeena, protection officer, non-institutional care, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU). While VFC was implemented for the first time in the district, DCPU has arranged for the permanent foster care of 30-odd children in the district.