It is the third year running that Lekha, a resident of a home run by a non-profit organisation here, has lived with Meera (names changed) and her husband at their home in the city during the summer vacations.
Her past two summer breaks were spent with the family, living in their house, eating with them, visiting relatives, and travelling. At the end of the two-month vacation, she returned to her institution to resume school, till the next year.
Lekha’s stay with Meera’s family has been facilitated by a vacation foster care programme under the government’s Sanatha Balyam project.
Sanatha Balyam places destitute, abandoned, or abused children in the care of foster families so that they benefit from the love and warmth of a family environment. It simultaneously ensures that institutional stay of the children becomes the last resort as stipulated in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.
As many as 172 children have been placed in vacation foster care across the State till the middle of April this year. Officials say there is little public awareness of the programme. Many people confuse adoption with foster care. The maximum number of children placed in vacation foster care is in Kottayam – 54.
Meera says many people, on coming to know about Lekha, ask her if such a programme does indeed exist. There is the issue of mindset, but more than that is the reluctance to take total responsibility for a child whom one does not know, even if for a short period, she feels. When Meera and her husband heard of vacation foster care, the couple spoke with their two daughters and decided to go ahead with it.
Initial challenges
Though their families were very welcoming to Lekha, the first year was still a challenge, Meera says. With Lekha having never lived in a family environment - her mother lives in a government institution for women - she had to be familiarised with a lot of things, but with time, things have improved.
Better awareness of the foster care programme would lead to more people coming forward to provide homes to such children.