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Blog: US trainees in New Life Home (Kenya)

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Friday, June 18, 2010

in Nairobi_ day 2

Today was great! We went to the Home at 9 and divided into 3 groups, the toddlers, crawlers, and babies. I was with the toddlers again, and knowing each of their names and a little of their personalities it was fun to play. They particularly enjoyed the slide this morning!
We fed them "momo" (snack) today of bananas and mangos. And then washed them and put them down for a nap. Their nap time is our lunch time.

After we came back and had a meeting with Rhoda, who is the New Life Home's Social Worker. She went through the adoption process again and filled in the blanks from orientation weekend. Basically the same info but more practicality now that we know the Home and kids. There are local adoptions and international adoptions. The locals are able to come and volunteer and pick out a kid. The Internationals come knowing which one they will take home. The international parents fill out an application and request a gender and age group. New Life then sends them adoption files of all the kids fitting these ranges. This is a fairly new law, less than a year old, so there are still a lot of thinks still to be worked out. And our work will also help with this process. The work we do will also help the babies get adopted faster.

Each baby has to be brought to court with his or her adoption files and argued that they are ready for adoption. The Kenyan Adoption Board decides yes or no, if no they say what else needs to be done. This process can take a week, a month, or a year. There's a lady who visits her soon to be son every day, but she has been in the process for the past 2 years. Effciency is crucial since New Life is almost always at bed capacity. The faster the turn over the more kids can come. When New Life has to turn away kids, they're sent to other orphanages. But New Life (I hope I don't offend anyone here who has worked with other Kenya Homes) but New Life is seen as the standard in the eyes of the government and very well respected among the people. They do things right, everything from medical care to good schooling and lots of love. But other orphanages have had problems and sketchy situations where they will secretly sell babies for not good reasons. So we want our records straight, clean, clear, and accessible so no bad accusations can be made against New Life.

Tonight and this weekend we will be talking about how to exactly right up these adoption files. Drew Rothenberg will be talking about how we should be filling out the Psyco-Social Reports and I'll be talking about the basic techniques for photographs such as the rule of thirds and when and when not to use a flash.

After the meeting with Rhoda we talked a little about what we'd be doing in the future. Each home will have a scanner and we'll scan the hard copies of police reports and medical reports and so on. On top of these scans, the psycho-social reports, and our photographs, we will be putting each child's report on an online password protected data base that can be accessed from any of the Kenya New Life homes and Amani in the US.

So basically the people here are amazing. I don't know how they get everything done without all the volunteers they have! Cooking, cleaning, laundry, yard-work, bathing, and playing with the kids is a ton of work! But here in Nairobi there are several volunteers from the University who have to meet service hour requirements. We talked to a few regular and local volunteers who have graduated but can't find jobs. They continued to explain, that of course when a Kenyan can't find work they give back to their community. Dang, like just imagine what the world would be like if everyone had that perspective on life.

My team is fantastic. A few of us make dinners together. Last night we made rice, curry spinach with walnuts. And tonight we made rice (for me) and pasta with tomato sauce eggs and broccoli. Since we haven't started the reports yet, we spend our free time playing cards, watching world cup, reading, napping, and talking about everything :) this is the way to live; in community, sharing everything, giving, and learning and growing together <3

I already want to stay for a few more weeks… hehe

Film wise I got interviews set up and basic questions written out. We'll be able to start shooting and photographing on Tuesday!

 

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

in Nairobi_ day 7
Off to New Life Home again! We continued with our psyco-social observations and reports. We have almost finished all the crawlers! So far we about 20 uploaded into our online archives. These case summaries, psyco-social reports, and pictures will be sent to international and local families looking to adopt and they will go towards arguing before the Kenyan Adoption Board who determines whether the baby is free to go with the families.

In the morning, I met with Rhoda and interviewed her in her office. I asked questions like "what is your role here at new life," "what are the biggest challenges you face as a social worker," "briefly explain the adoption process from new life's point of view," "how is new life different from other orphanages in kenya," "what do you hope to gain from us 11 interns working here and at various other homes"
She was very informative and answered the questions really well! The interview will be very helpful when putting together the doc.


I also was recruited to help write case study summaries but I had to decline because we had to hand write them, and my handwriting = chicken scratch and very illegible. But what the others who had pretty had writing did was take a baby's folder full of stuff (police reports, baby foot prints, birthday cards, legal papers, court committals, good Samaritans letters, and anything relevant to the child) and they summarized everything into case summaries… all on notebook paper. So that's partly why we're here. Because we are putting everything into accessible and electronic files. This way upon request, parents can view appropriate files (copy and paste are wonderful) and they can be easily printed out for case/adoption files.

In the afternoon we headed over to Little Angles with Rhoda. This is the adoption agency that is partnered with New Life Homes. They are the ones who receive adoption requests and applications and deal with the legal processes. They screen and interview parents and do the home visits to check up on the kids during the 3 month foster period once the babies are cleared for adoption. I also filmed this, and it was super duper cool to hear the process first hand from the baby lawyers and other social workers.

After walking home, we stopped by Yaya (our grocery store) to pick up last minute groceries before we start traveling on Sunday… because tomorrow we will be going on a Safari!!!!! Hooray!!! We leave tomorrow and come back Saturday night so I won't post again till then. I'm so pumped to see National Geographic and Discovery Channel and Animal Planet in real life! We get to hang out with the Maasai people (google them, their sweet!) and see all the typical animals. More details when I return :)

It's been incredible to get to know the adoption process.. . New Life averages about 1 kid per week being 'identified' which means a family has expressed interest which is sweet. But what will be sweeter is that with our work parents will be able to get their babies sooner.

Before we came here, at orientation , we watched this documentary following several adults trying to find out birth records and any family history they have. It really put into perspective that without these files in order, the New Life babies and babies in homes all over the world don't have a connection to their roots, history, or a feeling of completion with their story. These babies have rights, a right to know their family medical history, where they were born, their original/given name, parents info, a birth certificate, and why they ended up where they did. Every time work gets a little slow or monotonous, its encouraging to know that I'm fighting for someone who can't but who will later find these files priceless.

Well, its off to bed for me! I gotta back up and upload photos and videos. I'm all packed for the safari and camping. I'm going to the Lenovo store tomorrow with another intern who's school computer is broken. Since this is kind of a heavy on the technology job, computers are crucial. --> what was the one thing I forgot on this trip… my computer charger. But thank goodness several other people on the trip have school computers!!!!


Ok so also, all 11 of us were in one apartment living room watching the world cup and went absolutely nutz when USA scored. If the rest of the Kenyan complex was wondering if we were american, they know now!

I have so much great footage, I can't wait to start going through it. I filmed some more babies at New Life today, and interviewed some of the other interns. I love film!!!!! Here are some pictures too :)

Bulgaria strives to end plight of abandoned children

Bulgaria strives to end plight of abandoned children

SOFIA — Kuna, a pretty eight-year-old girl, lives in an orphanage in Bulgaria, abandoned by her family, but her Roma origins mean her chances of adoption are almost nil.

"Kuna's features do not reveal her origins, but her documents dissuade adoption candidates," said Nadya Dzhunova, director of the Slaveykov children's home in Sofia.

Indeed, Bulgarians are still highly prejudiced against the poor Roma minority, suspecting them of abandoning children at a young age only to claim them back when they are old enough to earn money.

At Slaveykov, Kuna lives alongside 61 abandoned children aged seven to 18, including six who are handicapped.

Her parents only kept two of their seven children but they refused to give up their parental rights over the little girl and four of her siblings, meaning the children could not be put up for adoption and would have been condemned to live in orphanages until adulthood.

But a new law that came into force in October means children who have spent more than six months in institutions and have not been taken back by their parents can now be put up for adoption, without the parents' approval.

This has already allowed Kuna and her four siblings to make their way onto adoption lists.

The practice of leaving children to the state's care due to poverty or a child's disability goes back to communist times and Bulgaria now has one of the highest rates of abandonment in the European Union, with some 6,730 children left to the care of state institutions.

"The problem is difficult to solve after 50 years during which the state readily placed in an institution any child at risk," deputy social minister Valentina Simeonova explained.

This was the case for eight mentally disabled teenagers, who after years in a dilapidated children's home in the remote village of Mogilino in northeastern Bulgaria, recently moved into their own house in the western village of Glozhene.

Confined to a wheelchair, 20-year-old Sergey can neither walk nor talk. Blind since birth, he was often tied to his bed at Mogilino to keep him still, according to the nurses at his new home in Glozhene.

Sergey and several dozen other children and adolescents with disabilities lived at Mogilino behind "a barbed wire fence and barred windows," cared for by unqualified, indifferent staff, according to Branimira Pavlova, head of a daycare centre in Teteven that temporarily hosted the eight youngsters.

The utter misery there sparked a nationwide fund-raising campaign, supported by UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, and private bTV television, to build new homes for the children and eventually close down the orphanage.

The government now plans to shut by 2013 all 27 remaining institutions for children with serious disabilities. Most of these facilities are situated in poor remote villages.

Meanwhile, it is encouraging the creation of daycare centres like the one in Teteven, where teams of nurses, psychologists and teachers can take care of children with disabilities during the day, allowing the parents to go work.

This would help battle high abandonment rates, Pavlova said.

Almost 98 percent of abandoned children in Bulgaria still have parents somewhere and social workers are seeking to encourage them to take their children back or place them in foster care.

Some 1,200 children aged 12 and above, or with grave disabilities, have been put on a special list for adoption abroad, mainly in the United States, Canada, Sweden and Italy, where families are more open to adopt these children.

Authorities are also seeking to limit the number of abandoned babies, aged three and under, which currently number 2,300 in all of Bulgaria.

In 2009, 536 Bulgarian babies were adopted domestically and 103 abroad, including 23 percent who had some sort of disability.

"If we manage to do away with abandonment at birth, we will manage to reverse the high number of children in institutions," Simeonova said.

Was duped by NGO staffer: Official

Was duped by NGO staffer: Official
Express News Service
First Published : 23 Jun 2010 03:16:02 AM IST
Last Updated : 23 Jun 2010 07:27:42 AM IST
 
CHENNAI: With the busting of the illegal child adoption racket, the Guild of Service (GoS), an NGO, has found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons, for social worker Shaila Samuel, working with it, used the children's home inmates to give them up for adoption through unlawful means.
She used the agency's name, stamp, other related documents, such as authorisation letters and the NGO's registration certificate to carry out her work.
K N George, honorary secretary of the NGO, has given in writing to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) that Shaila had carried out all the activities without his knowledge.
The senior officer of the Social Welfare Department, who illegally adopted Sweety, claimed that it was Shaila who had cheated saying that all documents for adoption had been cleared, according to Manorama, chairperson of CWC, Chennai.
Four children who had gone missing from the GoS had been put up at children's homes following referrals by the Sheela Hospital, where Parveen Banu had given birth to her child, Sweety. The NGO's involvement in the racket was unearthed after the CWC found out that Sweety had been illegally put up for adoption after duping her parents. The four were routed through Salem Missionaries of Charities and Cheshire Homes of India at Thiruvanmiyur and later to the GoS.
In Sweety's case, the hospital has given the wrong diagnosis to the parents in 2005 saying their baby suffered from an incurable ailment and would die soon after birth. The hospital had even obtained release forms from them, in which they stated they were willingly giving their child up for adoption.
However, five years later, Sweety is still healthy. In the other two cases, the hospital had failed to provide proper details such as the parents' address to a probation officer of the CWC, Coimbatore, said Manomara.
Shaila had cheated two other women in another case gave their children for adoption without the committee's knowledge, she said, adding, "We suspect Shaila has links with NGOs and the hospital in Coimbatore." Manorama said the committee had referred the case to the city police.
 
 

Godkendelse til adoption uændret

Godkendelse til adoption uændret

De formidlende organisationer, AC Børnehjælp og DanAdopt, har spurgt Familiestyrelsen om mulighederne

for at ændre de nuværende regler for længden af godkendelse til adoption.

> Læs Familiestyrelsens svar til de formidlende organisationer (pdf)

Publiceret: 23-06-2010 Sidst opdateret: 23-06-2010

Christian Adoption Frauds

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Christian Adoption Frauds

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Its easy to buy babies at TNs govt hospitals

Police Probe Statewide Child Trafficking Ring With Links In Healthcare System

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

About 18 months ago,doctors told Maruthayi,39,(name changed) that she would not be able to deliver a baby.Today,she dotes on an 11-month-old boy,buying him clothes and toys and taking him to the doctor for his shots.She cant imagine a life without him.
Maruthayi told The Times of India that she purchased the baby from a Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) hospital administrator but refused to divulge the amount she had paid.I paid him in thousands.The biological mother would have got most of it, she said.
Eight months ago,a TOI team went undercover and met the administrator who said he could find a baby for a potential buyer.In April,he was caught on camera saying he had found a woman who was due for delivery at the hospital in two months: I know your number.I will call you after she has the delivery negotiations will begin after that. On Monday,in a telephonic conversation,he promised to close the deal by next week.The conversation has been recorded.

Chennai:

Even as the Tamil Nadu police are currently working to unravel a child trafficking network spread across the state,it continues to be possible to buy a baby in Chennai.In fact,it would not be difficult to just walk in and steal one.And its not just at KMC that the task is so easy,government hospitals across the state have become the source for baby traffickers.
Ironically,almost every senior official,including Additional Director General of Police Archana Ramasundram and health secretary VK Subburaj,agree.Only two days ago,a woman lost her newborn at the Rajaji Medical College Hospital in Madurai.Police traced the child and restored it to the parents, says Subburaj.
Nearly 70% of all deliveries in the state take place at government hospitals,and most babies that are trafficked are from these hospitals.The cost of a baby ranges from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.Entry to government hospitals is not restricted,so security is a cause for concern.Government hospitals have no strict visiting hours.The campuses are huge.We need to evolve strategies to beef up security, says ADGP Archana Ramasundram.
The hospitals also face the problem of corrupt grade-IV staff.The staff demand money for every service,including getting xrays and cleaning the woman in labour.They hit my daughter on her thighs while she was in labour.We were forced to give them money, says Muthulakshmi,whose daughter was admitted to the Woman and Children Hospital at Egmore here.
In almost every government hospital,staff are aware of brokers who actively participate in child trafficking.While some babies are abandoned or sold by poor parents,others are stolen.

BIG BIZ OF BABIES

Of 11 babies bought and sold in 18 mths,4 were stolen from or near GHs in Krishnagiri and Tirupattur 3-month-old baby boy stolen from Krishnagiri GH | Rescued in Perambur 3-year-old boy stolen from near Krishnagiri GH | Sold in Gingee 2.5-year-old boy stolen from Tirupattur GH | Sold in Krishnagiri 1.5-year-old boy stolen from Tirupattur GH | Sold in Bangalore

http://epaper.expressbuzz.com/NE/NE/2010/06/23/Article//003/23_06_2010_003_032.jpg

11 babies traced,2 restored to parents

 

Breakthrough In Child Trafficking Case Came After Hosur Villager Approached Krishnagiri Police Last Month

A Selvaraj | TNN

Chennai: It all started when Ramakkal,who lives in a village near Hosur,went to the Krishnagiri police last month saying her three-month-old son had been stolen.The distraught mother told them she had been at a government hospital and made friends with a woman,who made off with the child.
She described the woman as having burn marks on her neck and hands.We formed special teams and closed in on Dhanalakshmi who lives in Krishnagiri.She was taken into custody.She confessed after Ramakkal identified her, said Krishnagiri superintendent of police AG Babu.
Krishnagiri district,among the more backward in the state,is known for cases of female infanticide,but in the last few weeks it has emerged as a source for babies that are sold to childless couples.Eight of the 11 babies rescued recently are from Krishnagiri.
Police said Dhanalakshmi,35,befriended Girija,45,at the Kilpauk Medical College hospital.Dhanalakshmi was undergoing treatment as she had tried to set herself ablaze after a fight with her husband.These were the burn injuries that would lead to her identification and the cracking of the case.Girija,who lived in Perambur,realised that parents in poverty-stricken Krishnagiri district would probably be willing to sell babies.She convinced Dhanalakshmi to buy babies from parents for as little as Rs 1,000 or steal them.Dhanalakshmi received Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 for a baby.
Girija sold the babies to childless couples at prices ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.Through her relative,Jayaprasad,who was working in a wine shop at Neelankarai and his girlfriend,Nancy Tersy,Girija networked with another child racketeering group headed by Pastor Alphonse Xavier,who ran a church near Chennai,and a Puducherry-based self-styled social activist M Lalitha.Their luck ran out when Dhanalakshmi stole Ramakkals child.
Police investigations led to the arrest of Dhanalakshmi,Girija,Siva,Jayaprasad,Alphonse Xavier,Lalitha,Nancy and three others,and the rescuing of 11 babies (seven male and four female ).Based on Lalithas confession,the manager of a private hospital in Chennai was arrested for issuing false birth reports for the babies.The kidnapped children have been traced to various parts of Tamil Nadu,Puducherry and Bangalore.There are still some knots that can be untangled only by questioning the suspects further, a police officer said.
We are probing if children were sold abroad too.Arrests of a few more accused will reveal this, said a senior police officer.Till now,seven members of the gang have been arrested and five,including Girija,have been detained under the Goondas Act.But Krishnagiris children may not be safe unless the entire child trafficking network in Tamil Nadu is unravelled.
timeschennai@timesgroup.com

MINOR-ITY REPORT

Buyers:

They are normally childless couples who often end up at infertility clinics.Touts put them in touch with dubious social service outfits.The couples pay money to adopt the babies

Sellers:

Agents befriend pregnant women from poor families at govt hospitals and ask if they want to sell their babies.Mostly,class IV staff in hospitals are involved in this racket

Modus operandi:

Touts buy or steal babies from Krishnagiri and Vellore districts and hand them over to contacts in big cities.Later,the babies are sold to childless
couples using fake
documents



Children tossed between foster,biological parents

 

Radha Venkatesan | TNN

Krishnagiri: For 25 years,Kamalam and Periyasamy were childless.We were resigned to life without a child, says Kamalam Periyasamy.
Then on the evening of November 30,2008,a two-and-a-halfyear-old boy suddenly stumbled into their lives.Our landlord told us about his relative.A little boy had been orphaned and needed a caring home.Out of sheer sympathy,we brought him home.Believe us,we did not pay a single rupee, sobs Kamalam,hugging little Sripathy in her small house in Krishnagiri.
A driver in the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department,Periyasamy says he never dreamt that the child might have been a victim of trafficking.He brings such joy and colour to our lives, he says.Sripathy quickly settled into life at the Periyasamy household and the couple felt a dream had come true at last.
But two days ago,police knocked on Periyasamys door and told him that he and his wife were parenting a child stolen from a couple at the government general hospital at Tirupattur in Vellore district.Dhanalakshmi,who was supplying babies from Krishnagiri and Vellore,to a child trafficking gang in Chennai had stolen the boy over a year ago.
When I first saw Sripathy,he pleaded with me not to leave him, says Periyasamy,who had fled Nagapattinam after the tsunami and settled in Krishnagiri.Another tsunami has struck us now, says Kamalam.
Now,the couple are begging the boys biological father Selvam,a struggling mini-bus driver,and mother Sangeetha not to take away their life.The Krishnagiri magistrate court has asked the Periyasamys to keep custody of the child until the results of the DNA tests are out.
At the Krishnagiri court complex,a couple from Bangalore,Puzhuthiraj and Mehala,who had bought a baby from the Chennai gang,are also inconsolable.How can I let go of the child cries Mehala,cuddling one-and-a-half-year-old Viswas.He was also stolen from the Tirupattur GH from a poor Muslim couple.
It is these poor tots who are being tossed around in the emotional tussle between their foster and biological parents.
radha.venkatesan@timesgroup.com


CAUGHT IN AN EMOTIONAL TANGLE: Kamalam and Periyasamy with four-year-old Sripathy who was stolen from Tirupattur and given to the couple in November 2008

 
Krishnagiri: Baby snatchers paradise

 

Radha Venkatesan | TNN

Krishnagiri: Lined with mango groves and granite rocks and located close to Bangalore,Krishnagiri district is emerging as a trading hub of Tamil Nadu.These days,though,the town is not just attracting mango and granite traders,but child shoppers too.
With more than half its population steeped in poverty and illiteracy,Krishnagiri has become a hunting ground for child traffickers,who either steal or buy babies here,and put them up for sale in the adoption market.Krishnagiri police,who unearthed the child trafficking racket,have so far traced 11 children stolen or bought from Krishnagiri and neighbouring Vellore by a Chennai-based gang.
Poverty is the key reason for child traffickers targeting Krishnagiri.There is a deep resistance to family planning among the migrant labourers.In a few places in Krishnagiri,parents continue to kill female babies as they do not want them, said a police officer.
Three years ago,when an auto drivers wife,Girija Siva of Perambur in Chennai met a petty shop owner,Dhanalakshmi of Krishnagiri,at a government hospital in Chennai,she was intrigued by Krishnagiris tale of poverty,infanticide and illiteracy.She saw a great opportunity for child trafficking, said Krishnagiri police inspector A Kannappan.
From running a marriage brokers business,Girija switched to child trafficking.The first victim was the ninth child of a migrant brick kiln worker.They paid Rs 1,000 for the boy,and sold him for Rs 35,000.In Krishnagiri,parents stealthily sell their babies for Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000, said a social welfare department official.
As demand for children grew from childless couples,Girija directed Dhanalakshmi to prey on women at government hospitals and bus stops in Krishnagiri.Depending on the sex and health condition of the child,the price was fixed ranging from Rs 25,000 to over Rs 1.5 lakh.Obviously,boys always fetched a higher price.
Dhanalakshmi stole the babies and Girija,her husband Siva and friend Rani,would bring them to Chennai.As childless couples flocked to her illegal adoption agency,she started collecting advances of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000.The pressure to give children to couples from whom she took an advance forced her to steal more babies, say Krishnagiri police.

Security to be tightened in all govt hospitals

 

Vivek Narayanan | TNN

Chennai: State government hospitals will soon have a security makeover with a private womens force manning their premises and CCTVs monitoring corridors.As the state police continue their crackdown on baby abductors,the state government has finally woken up to the issue,convening a meeting month-end to discuss steps to strengthen security at hospitals,which are proving to be major hunting ground for child-trafficking gangs.
On June 30,officials from the state health department and the crime branch-CID will meet to discuss the various security measures to be taken to strengthen security at government hospitals.ADGP Archana Ramasundaram and health secretary VK Subburaj will evolve stringent security measures to prevent trafficking.
The measures will include posting of private women security personnel in hospitals and CCTVs on all corridors.We have some funds in patients welfare societies at every hospital.The medical superintendents can make use of the fund to tighten security, said Subburaj.
The police have been suggesting appointment of ex-servicemen to shore up security.The main problem in the government maternity hospitals is that there is no foolproof security system to monitor and keep track of visitors.In private hospitals tokens are given to family members who would visit the patient daily and in case they need an additional token,the request has to be given in writing, said a police official.
The CB-CID is also monitoring childrens homes across the state and preparing a status report on unlicensed ones.The police say there are 800 unregistered children homes in the state with no supervision whatsoever.Meanwhile,the Chennai suburban police which arrested four womenAsha,Nancy,Kavitha and Andalinvolved in selling stolen babies,has also planned a series of security measures in hospitals.
On June 5,a four-day-old baby was stolen from a private hospital in Madhavaram.The culprit posed as a visitor and offered help to the babys mother.Under the pretext of taking the child to the vaccination room,the lady disappeared with the child.Such cases should be dealt with seriously.Though we cannot compel the hospitals to fix CCTV cameras,I will be advising them to do so, said Chennai suburban commissioner S R Jangid.

 

Fraud alleged in adoption of 5 children

Committee Files Complaint Against One Social Worker

R Vasundara | TNN

Chennai: The city-based Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has filed a police complaint,alleging irregularities in the adoption procedure of five children,all five-year-olds born in the same hospital in Coimbatore.The CWC has charged a social worker in the Guild of Service,an authorised adoption centre,of forging adoption documents for the children to get clearance from the committee.
According to Dr P Manorama,chairperson of CWC,which comes under the staterun department of social defence,the issue first came to her notice when the social worker applied for clearance for adoption of all the five children simultaneously.Normally,the Guild of Service applies for clearance from CWC for one child at a time.This made us suspicious.When our probationary officer verified the background of the children,we found that all the five children were born in the same hospital (Sheila Hospital) in Coimbatore. said Dr Manorama,who filed a police complaint on Friday last.
We are investigating the case, Mohammed Shakeel Akhtar,city police additional commissioner told TOI.Once we verify the allegations (pertaining to the social worker),we will pass on the case to Coimbatore police for a probe against the hospital. The Guild of Service management has denied knowledge of the five children being under their care.
According to Dr Manorama,officers of the social welfare department discovered last year that the five children (none of whom were disabled) were residing at Cheshire Home,a home for the differentlyabled.Their case was transferred under the care of Guild of Service.We were approached by the social worker from the Guild in October 2009 for temporary custody of the children.The adoption papers were presented again in February 2010 for verification, explained Manorama.When I wrote to the secretary of the Guild,I discovered that the Guild had no knowledge that these children were under their care. Moreover,the social worker had already put up three of the children for adoption without the mandatory clearance from the CWC.
Raising further questions are the actions of the hospital which had given away these babies (they were all born in 2005) to Missionary of Charity Home in Salem.One of the five children is the offspring of Mohammed Usman of Coimbatore who claims he was misled into giving away his girl.
I was told before the delivery that my baby has a fatal kidney problem and will not survive for more than a week.The doctor persuaded me to sign a bond and entrust the child to a missionary home, he said.However,when he decided to bring back his baby,he was informed that she was not with the hospital.
vasundara.r@timesgroup.com

THE CURIOUS CASE OF DISAPPEARING BABIES

As City Population Went Up By 16%,Birth Rate Dipped By 14%

Pushpa Narayan | TNN
Chennai: As startling tales of babies being stolen tumble out of hospitals every day,the Chennai Corporations birth registry shows a striking trend of babies getting scarce.In the last 10 years,while Chennai has seen an increase in population by over 16%,there has been a drop in child birth by nearly 14%.
While demographic experts cite effective family planning and awareness as vital contributory factors,doctors dont rule out infertility problems among couples for the dip in child birth.The 2001 Census shows that Chennais population was nearly 43 lakh and the birth registry recorded 1.2 lakh child births.In 2009,the citys population was estimated at 50 lakh.The same year,the civic body recorded a little over one lakh births.
The decline in the number of child births has been consistent since 2001, says Chennai Corporation commissioner Rajesh Lakoni.Population experts say that while many people in the city are now delaying marriage and child birth for professional reasons,several couples have restricted themselves to one child.Until some years ago,girls were married off early.Now,girls try to delay their marriage.Even after marriage for various reasons including careers,many women take birth control pills to push pregnancy as farther as possible.There is a considerable number of women in the city who have their child after the age of 32.While some naturally lose the fertile period,others adopt ways to avoid further pregnancies, said former director of public health Dr S Elango.
Though many gynaecologists dont deny this,they say the larger reason could be because of the increase in increasing fertility troubles.We are seeing a marked increase in the number of people visiting our clinics.Ten years ago,infertility was estimated to be about 15% of adult population.There is no recent study for reference.But going by the number of cases,we can say that the incidence must have gone up by at least 5% in recent years.We see many couples,young and old,walking in with infertility problems, said obstetrician-gynaecologist Dr Jayashree Gajaraj,ex-president,Federation of Obstetrician-Gynaecologist Society of India.The success rate for infertility treatment has not crossed 35% even at the best of fertility centres.
So a large percentage of them do remain childless even after treatment.Some of them dont even attempt it because its expensive and does not have an insurance cover, she added.
Doctors like sexologist Dr Narayana Reddy dont rule out the impact of rapid changing lifestyle on fertility.Lifestylerelated problems like obesity,hypertension and diabetes,besides pollution,smoking and alcohol addiction contribute to the problem.Nearly 18% of the city population are diabetics.An equal number of them have blood pressure.Many youngsters smoke.All these take a toll on a persons sex life.We also see men with low sperm counts and other sexual problems such as erectile dysfunction, he said.
Fertility expert Dr Priya Selvaraj said the common problem among women is delayed pregnancy.Since many put their careers ahead,they come to us very late.When we diagnose them we see serious gynaecological problems, she said.

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Continuation “DNA case” Indian couple

Continuation “DNA case” Indian couple

Zwolle-Lelystad, 23 June 2010 – Today, the three-judge family section of the District Court of Zwolle-Lelystad proceeded behind closed doors with the hearing of the request filed by the Indian couple in the “DNA case”. For further information about this case please be referred to the press releases issued by the court on 11 June and 15 June last.

Adoptive parents present
Today’s hearing was attended by the adoptive parents and their lawyers, the special curator of the child and the lawyer of the Indian couple.

Since the case is heard behind closed doors no further information can be given about the substance of the case.

Child psychologist as expert
The court wants to seek an expert opinion on the question whether the child is able to fully understand the case and the consequences it may have for him. The court intends to appoint a child psychologist as expert. Through conversations with the child the expert will have to try to provide clarity about the above question. The lawyers of the parties have been invited to submit a joint proposal for the appointment of an expert. Subsequently, the court will make the appointment.



Bron: Rechtbank Zwolle-Lelystad
Datum actualiteit: 24 juni 2010

Was duped by NGO staffer: Official

Gokul Vannan

Express News Service

First Published : 23 Jun 2010 03:16:02 AM IST

Last Updated : 23 Jun 2010 07:27:42 AM IST

CHENNAI: With the busting of the illegal child adoption racket, the Guild of Service (GoS), an NGO, has found itself in the news for all the wrong reasons, for social worker Shaila Samuel, working with it, used the children's home inmates to give them up for adoption through unlawful means.

Netwerk: Indiase ouders 'Rahul' doen aangifte van kidnapping

De zaak rond het geroofde adoptiekind 'Rahul' krijgt een nieuwe wending: het Indiase echtpaar dat claimt dat ze de biologische ouders van de jongen zijn, stappen naar de politie om aangifte te doen van kidnapping.

Het echtpaar kwam vorige week naar Nederland om via de rechter een

 

DNA-test af te dwingen

 

Fake Police Document to Adopt a Girl

Translation of article on Kantipur news website, published on 22 June 2010 
.


Fake police document to adopt a girl


-By Pratima Baskota 
Kathmandu, June 22 (Tuesday) 

A guardian has claimed that, without her permission, a children’s home named Prayash Nepal at Baluwatar, Kathmandu, has sent her daughter abroad as an adopted daughter on the ground of a fake police document. 

She has said that her daughter Smriti was sent to Italy by making fake profile in the official letter pad of local community police. Though the children home says that the girl was referred by police, the letter itself seems to be a suspicious one. 

The reference letter of police, received by 'Kantipur' daily, states that Smriti, daughter of a local homeless (Sukumbasi) Sarita Bhujel of Shantinagar, was handed over to Prayash Nepal in 29, January 2007. The letter's 'dispatch/serial number' is 40. But the police have kept record of the letters of the period during 18, July 2006 to 10, November 2006 only. In the police record book, two pages are left blank following the last date (10, November 2006) after which new records for 2007 has been shown. 

"This letter must have been misused by someone" says a policeman of this branch" Every letters sent from here contains the dispatch number but this letter's dispatch number is not found to be recorded here." 

The letter is signed by Phool Kumari Paudel, the then Head Constable (Havaldaar). She is now Assistant Sub Inspector at Chabahil Community Police. She said that she had handed over some children, found in abandoned state, to the children home but she doesn't remember about Smriti. "All the letters sent by me contained the 'dispatch/serial numbers'-she said." 

But Smriti's mother said that she herself had kept her daughter at Prayash Nepal through a lady who was her neighbor. On Monday, she had gone to that children home to seek her daughter. She said-"I kept her there because I was told that they would educate my daughter till S.L.C.  I met her only for 5 times. Later when I tried to meet her I was not permitted saying that she was having her examinations. And now they have sent my daughter abroad without informing me." During these years she had been married again. 

On Monday, CCWB wrote a letter to the children home to return the girl. Sarita had reached there with that letter. The situation became quite tensed when Mani Joshi, the director of the home, said that the child had been found in an abandoned condition. 

The executive director of CCWB, Mr. Dharma raj Shrestha said that the children home had committed a mistake. He said that chidlren homes have done mischief with help of police and local administration. "These kind of problems have increased in recent days" he added. 

The owner of the children home, Mani Joshi claimed that she was handed over the girl by the police with a letter. "I have not done any fake works; police handed over her to me. We received the girl when the Community Police sent a letter saying that the girl was found in an abandoned state. Her mother came in our contact only after she was sent to Italy." 

Translated by Mr. Purushottam Lamsal 

DF: Stop adoptioner fra Indien

DF: Stop adoptioner fra Indien

21. jun. 2010 06.00 Politik

Efter 21 Søndag i aftes fortalte, at en indisk mand har fået franarret sine børn, som er blevet bortadopteret til Danmark uden hans accept, vil Dansk Folkeparti have stoppet for adoptioner fra Indien.

Både SF og de Konservative er også villige til at se på muligheden og kræver samtidig sammen med Socialdemokraterne, at det indiske adoptionsmarked bliver grundigt gransket.

- Dansk Folkeparti mener, at al samarbejde med de indiske adoptionsmyndigheder bør ophøre, og at al adoption fra Indien til Danmark bør indstilles, indtil adoptioner kan genoptages på betryggende vilkår, siger Marlene Harpsøe, Dansk Folkepartis medlem af retsudvalget. 

Otte år uden sine børn
Udmeldingen kommer efter, at 21 Søndag i går fortalte historien om den indiske mand Ramesh Kulkarni, som har fået franarret sine børn, der nu er i Danmark. 

Ramesh Kulkarni har nu ikke set sine børn i otte år.

I 2002 afleverede Ramesh Kulkarni nemlig sine børn til børnehjemmet Preet Mandir i Indien, der efterfølgende bortadopterede børnene uden faderens viden og uden hans accept.

Nu vil han have sine børn igen, siger han til DR Nyheder.

- Det er en dybt tragisk sag, som ikke må finde sted, lyder det fra Marlene Harpsøe (DF).

Sagen genåbnet
Men sagen om Ramesh Kulkarnis ikke nogen nyhed for de danske myndigheder. I 2007 dokumenterede 21 Søndag for første gang det indiske børnemarked - heriblandt Ramesh Kulkarnis sag.

Det betød, at Danmark lukkede for al adoption fra Indien. Men efter en undersøgelse slog fast, at faderen havde sagt ja til bortadoption, blev adoptionsgrænserne åbnet igen

Nu viser en undersøgelse, at Ramesh Kulkarni intet vidste, og at sagen ikke kun handler om en far, som er blevet snydt af et korrupt børnehjem, men om korruption helt op på statsligt niveau i Indien.

Korrupt indisk adoptionsmyndighed
- Det er frygteligt og fuldstændig uacceptabelt , at sådan noget kan ske, lyder det fra Vivi Kier, de Konservatives familieretsordfører.

Det indiske forbundspoliti - CBIs - nye undersøgelse af sagen har nemlig også fundet spor af korruption hele vejen op til de indiske adoptionsmyndigheder. Et centralt og meget farligt advarselssignal, som vi ikke kan ignorere, mener flere politikere herhjemme.

- Der skal straks iværksættes et tilbundsgående udredningsarbejde af hele området, siger Vivi Kier (K).

Flere partier villige til at lukke for indiske adoptioner
SF og Konservative er også parat til at se på, om der igen skal lukkes for adoptioner fra Indien. I hvert fald indtil reglerne er skærpet.

-Jeg syntes, at ministeren må gribe ind nu og sørge for midlertidigt at få bremset adoptionerne, i hvert fald indtil vi er sikre på, at der ikke foregår noget forkert, lyder det fra Vivi Kier.

Fra SF meldingen:

- Jeg vil høre ministeren ad, om det ikke er fornuftigt at få et stop for adoptioner fra Indien. Og derefter bliver vi nød til at have nogle skærpede krav til de organisationer, der foretager adoptioner fra Indien til Danmark, siger Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt, retsordfører for SF.

Socialdemokraterne vil endnu ikke tage stilling til, om de mener adoptionerne skal stoppes, men understreger, at vi hurtigt muligt skal iværksætte en undersøgelse, siger Karen Hækkerup, Socialdemokraternes retspolitiske ordfører.

Fakta om Ramesh Kulkarnis historie

  • I mart 2002 dør Ramesh Kulkarnis kone af gulsot få måneder efter, at deres sidste barn er født.
  • Efter nogle uger bryder Ramesh Kulkarni sammen. Han kan ikke give børnene mad, når han er på arbejde. Derfor forlader han sit job og flytter sammen med sin familie. Han indser, at han ikke kan tage sig af børnene, og cirka en måned efter sin kones død afleverer Ramesh Kulkarni sine børn til børnehjemmet Preet Mandir. Han får at vide, at han når som helst kan hente sine børn igen, når han er kommet økonomisk og mentalt overpå.
  • Børnehjemmet beder ham underskrive et papir. Papir, som han tror er indskrivningsdokumenter, men som i virkeligheden var bortadoptionspapirer.
  • En måned efter kommer familien for at hente børnene, men de er væk.
  • Børnehjemmet Preet Mandir forsøger at afpresse familien og kræver penge for at give børnene tilbage. Desværre har familien ikke pengene.
  • I foråret 2003 tror Ramesh Kulkarni stadig, at hans børn er på børnehjemmet Preet Mandir, men børnene er blevet bortadopteret til Danmark.
  • Ramesh Kulkarni nægter at give tilladelse til bortadoption og bliver forbudt at komme på børnehjemmet.
  • Faderen sætter gang i søgningen med advokat, men må give op på grund af pengeproblemer.
  • Først i oktober 2006 gør Ramesh Kulkarni endnu et forsøg på at se børnene sammen med sin bror. De tager til børnehjemmet, men børnehjemmet viser dem nogle helt andre børn, der ikke er hans. Protester fra faderen og broderen gør, at de bliver smidt ud af børnehjemmet. 
  • I April 2007 beslutter hele familien at køre sammen til børnehjemmet. Her får de at vide, at børnene er i Danmark.
  • Familien melder sagen til det lokale politi i byen Pune, til kriminalpolitiet i Mumbai og børnerettighedsorganisationen Child Line. De vil have børnene tilbage.
  • Sagen bliver vist i 21 Søndag i juni 2007, og den får den konsekvens, at Danmark stopper midlertidigt for adoptioner fra Indien. Men efter at en undersøgelse fra Indien fastslår, at Ramesh Kulkarni godt vidste, hvilke papirer han havde underskrevet, lukker Danmark igen op for adoptioner fra Indien, og børnehjemmet Preet Mandir og AC Børnehjælp bliver frikendt for anklagerne.
  • I 2010 finder indisk politi ud af, at den politimand, som stod bag undersøgelsen i 2007, er korrupt og i ledtog med børnehjemmet Preet mandir. Han bliver fyret.
  • Ny undersøgelse iværksættes. Den slår fast, at Ramesh Kulkarni fik franarret sine børn. Samtidig finder CBI, Det Indiske Forbundspoliti, ud af, at der er korrupte embedsmænd ansat i CARA, den indiske adoptionsmyndighed, som også i ledtog med børnehjemmet i Preet Mandir.
  • Nu vil Ramesh Kulkarni have sine børn tilbage til Indien.