The very dire socio-economic situation in the country was inadvertently dramatised by 22-year-old Seun Oladayo in Ondo State who had planned to ‘dispose’ of her baby after delivery because she would not be able to take care of the baby. She claimed that the father of the baby absconded the moment she got pregnant.

It is a sign of good fortune for the innocent baby that one Pastor Olawale was approached by the uncle, one Yinka, to pay a paltry N10,000 for the baby. In a rare display of piety, the pastor reported the evil plot to the Amotekun Corps in Ondo town. We commend the display of kindness and vigilance by the pastor who even noticed that the birth of the baby might have been induced and there was evidence that the mother deliberately wanted to kill the child by strangling her with the umbilical cord.

The pastor’s exceptional behaviour must be commended in an era when some pastors are being upbraided for far too many crimes, including ritual killing of children. His is a huge elixir for Christendom in such trying times. His behaviour is so Christ-like and must be an example of the expected behaviour from all Christians.

On the part of the lady, we regret that her motherly instincts did not pop up to shield her baby from the trauma of induction and a deliberate attempt to strangle her with the umbilical cord. Even though we blame the father of the baby for absconding on confirmation of pregnancy, a very reprehensible and irresponsible attitude, we still feel that the state must search him out and make sure he faces justice.

Again, the attempt to sell her baby or even wish the baby death by the mother speaks to her hurt and state of mind. Even selling the baby for a paltry N10,000 speaks to the level of poverty afflicting the girl and her family. To sell her own child for less than $30 speaks to the mental and material poverty of the mother and her brother. It is a pointer to the impact of the fact that Nigeria is presently the poverty capital of the world. Make no mistakes about it, an attempt to sell the baby for a trillion dollars does not negate the odious and tragic transaction in any way.

Actor Salim Diwan has revealed that he has adopted 12 children, and he looks after their education. He points out there is a stigma around adoption in our country.

“Adopting a child is very common abroad. There are plenty of international renowned names who have adopted children and even funded their education. In India, the thought is finally pacing up but it will still take a lot of time,” Salim said.

“I have always believed in the concept of ‘right to education’, children are our future and right education will not only help them prosper financially, it also makes them a better human being. As of now I have adopted and looked into the education of 12 lovely bright children,” he added.

Explaining his thoughts, he said, “There is a stigma around adoption that has been created by the people in our society so they either don’t do it or keep it in private. I never believed in talking about it but I feel with the changing phase and thoughts of the young souls of our nation, now is the time to speak up.”

“I will consider my work done even if my voice reaches out and inspires a few people. I would urge everyone to come out and openly accept these kids as they can live a life which they might have only dreamt off,” he added.

A report German authorities tried to silence shows how Catholic nuns peddled orphaned boys to predatory priests and perverts for decades.

ROME—A jarring report outlining decades of rampant child sex abuse at the hands of greedy nuns and perverted priests paints a troubling picture of systematic abuse in the German church.

The report is the byproduct of a lawsuit alleging that orphaned boys living in the boarding houses of the Order of the Sisters of the Divine Redeemer were sold or loaned for weeks at a time to predatory priests and businessmen in a sick rape trade. The men involved in the lawsuit say as boys they were denied being adopted out or sent to foster families because selling them for rape lined the sisters’ coffers for their “convent of horrors.” Some of the boys were then groomed to be sex slaves to perverts, the report claims.

The alleged abuse went on for years, with one of the males claiming the nuns even frequently visited their college dorms after they had left the convent. He said the nuns often drugged him and delivered him to predators’ apartments. The Order of Sisters of the Divine Redeemer did not answer multiple requests for comment about the allegations.

A second lawsuit, first reported by Deutsche Welle last year, comes after a separate case against the German church led by 63-year-old Karl Haucke who demanded the Archdiocese of Cologne carry out a full investigation into clerical sex crimes, which it concluded in January 2021. But the details of that investigative report were so horrific that Archbishop Reiner Maria Woelki refused to make it public, demanding that any journalists who see it sign confidentiality agreements. Eight German journalists walked out of a press conference in January after being denied access to the church’s investigation unless they agreed not to publish its contents.

A family who lost their daughter years ago was finally reunited with her, but what happened is something that the family would have never imagined. As per a report published in a leading English daily, the family was finally reunited with their daughter, but over the years, something had changed.

The Incident

Sakina and her husband live with their three children in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. Years ago, the family had gone on a pilgrimage trip. After visiting Ajmer Sharif, the family of 5 went to Mecca Masjid. The girl accompanied her father to get water, when the unfortunate incident happened.

Sakina and her husband lost their daughter 15 years ago during their visit to Mecca masjid in Hyderabad. When the daughter, Fatima was just two-and-half-years old, Sakina lost her baby girl in the Masjid. The family tried a lot to search for the girl.

The Search and Struggle

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INFORMATIE DOSSIER

Samenwerkende Vergunninghouders Adoptie ten behoeve van het Algemeen Overleg

Februari 2021

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COIMBATORE: The city police on Saturday arrested four people, including two women, from Karumbukadai in connection with illegal adoption of two girl children and physical harassment of the youngest child.

The office of district child protection officer rescued the children – aged seven years and four years – and accommodated them in a children’s home.

“After separating from her husband, the biological mother of the children had started living with another man. Four months ago, she gave the children to a friend, who gave them to his two sisters. Within a month or so, the woman who was taking care of the four-year-old child, handed her over to another couple who was looking for adoption,” said an official. “The couple assaulted the child, causing scars on her body. Their neighbours alerted police.”

Podanur police officers and child protection officials visited the house on Friday and rescued the child. “We shifted the kids to a children’s home. We might send the elder girl with the family upon submitting legal adoption documents as she was taken good care of. The youngest child will be subjected to medical examination,” the official said.

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Coimbatore: A 4-year-old girl was allegedly subjected to torture and assault by a couple that adopted her illegally. The girl was allegedly beaten up and branded by the accused in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district. The case surfaced after the owner of the accused's house saw injury marks and burns on the girl's body.

After seeing the injuries, the owner contacted the cops and the child was rescued. Allegedly, the accused couple illegally adopted the child through a broker.

Girl's elder sister adopted by another family

A probe revealed that the 4-year-old child was adopted illegally by the couple, without any documentation and her elder sister was adopted by another family.

Reportedly, the accused used to assault the girl and brand her. To add to her woes, the heartless accused allegedly poured hot water on the girl. Initially, when some of the neighbours asked the accused about the marks, they claimed that the child had been assaulted by her biological parents, The Hindu reported.

COIMBATORE: The city police on Saturday arrested four people, including two women, from Karumbukadai in connection with illegal adoption of two girl children and physical harassment of the youngest child.

The office of district child protection officer rescued the children – aged seven years and four years – and accommodated them in a children’s home.

“After separating from her husband, the biological mother of the children had started living with another man. Four months ago, she gave the children to a friend, who gave them to his two sisters. Within a month or so, the woman who was taking care of the four-year-old child, handed her over to another couple who was looking for adoption,” said an official. “The couple assaulted the child, causing scars on her body. Their neighbours alerted police.”

Podanur police officers and child protection officials visited the house on Friday and rescued the child. “We shifted the kids to a children’s home. We might send the elder girl with the family upon submitting legal adoption documents as she was taken good care of. The youngest child will be subjected to medical examination,” the official said

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Women are entitled to maternity leave for adoption, only if the child is below three months of age at that time. This has posed several challenges to women who chose to adopt.

Natasha Sikdar*, an assistant professor at a Kolkata-based engineering college adopted a six-month-old girl child in 2020. She presumed that she would be entitled to maternity leave by her institute but was denied one citing the law.

"Since I had some reproductive issues and had reached the age of 36 years, I decided to go for adoption. The adoption process itself took more than a year and I really needed time off to spend with the baby. But my workplace refused leave since it is legally not mandatory," she added.

The Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Act states that 26 weeks of paid maternity leave will be available to all working women for pregnancy and child-birth.

However, when it comes to adoption the law states provides only 12 weeks of maternity leave from the time the child is handed over to them. This too is applicable only if the child is below the age of three months. Women adopting children above three months are not legally entitled to any leave.

Barwani: The officials of Childline have succeeded in reuniting a seven-year-old boy with his family on Friday.

The boy got lost in the haat bazaar after his grandfather who got fully intoxicated, forgot to take him back to Sawarda village from where they had come. The lost boy Rakesh was brought to the police station of Rajpur. As soon as the officials of Childline got the news about a lost child being brought to the police station by the Station Incharge of Rajpur police station Triveni Rajput, Project Coordinator of Childline Sanjay Arya and Ravindra Singh Rathod reached Rajpur police station immediately and took the boy in their custody. After enquiring they came to know how the child got lost in the haat bazaar.

Childline officials did successful counseling of the child and after searching his home called his parents and then handed over the child to them.

Childline India Foundation is said to be the best NGO in India working for child labour, child trafficking, child abuse and violence, sexual abuse, child marriage, homeless child, conflict with the law, missing children, runaways, child health, education-related, homeless and addiction. Their efforts in the direction of child welfare are praiseworthy.

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