During February 2019, Rita Sarma (Vice President) and Smita Sabhlok (Secretary) from SESTAA visited Shishugreh, the orphanage run by the Indian Council of Child Welfare. Shishugreh is a home for abandoned babies – the ones that are left in the specially designed cradle at the entrance to the home. More often than not, people abandon children with some form of disability. SESTAA provides about $2,000 per year for the salary of one of the carer-cum-nurse’s in the home.
At the time of the visit, there were 20 children under the age of 6 being looked after. Out of them, 9 children had various forms of disability, such as, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, intellectual disability and one each were deaf and blind. The children are taken to Shishu Sarothi for early screening and assessment, and they are provided weekly physiotherapy and speech therapy sessions by a part-time therapist. The carers took good care of the children and they were in a clean, hygienic environment.
