ROURKELA: Abandoned by their parents, the hapless children residing in many private orphanages are leading a miserable life in unhygienic conditions and with no proper food. Allegations of exploitation and misappropriation of funds by the caretakers have been doing rounds for long. The recent incident when 30 inmates of Nirmal Munda Vidyapeeth (NMV) at Chhend Colony here were taken ill with gastroenteritis, only highlights their plight. Members of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) rescued the children and arranged for their treatment. Similarly, the CWC had rescued several children of Global Village orphanage at Birmitrapur town, about a month back. However, things are back to square one there since the Sundargarh district administration is ill-equipped to act against the erring orphanages. CWC member and child rights activist Abdul Kalam Azad said between 25 and 30 inmates in the age group of three to 14 are crammed in rooms of 180 square feet in highly unhygienic conditions. At NMV, 88 children and 10 staff members share a common toilet even as a generator set, furniture and water-purifier, received as donations, are being used by the orphanage owner, he alleged. Similarly, at Sarva Bhoutik Anath Sishu Ashram at Basanti Colony, the children address their caretaker as ‘Malik’ (Master). In the absence of effective government audit, funds collected as donations are allegedly siphoned off.While the children are used to raise funds, there have been numerous instances of children being employed as domestic help and subjected to unreported sexual abuse. District Social Welfare Officer (DSWO) Prativa Mohanty said the administration had initiated action after a complaint from the CWC. But she admitted that the administration had no idea of about the exact number of orphanages functioning with or without licence. The administration has a record of four government-aided and seven recognised orphanages. Conservative estimate puts the number of big and small orphanages in the district at over 50.
Comments
0 comment