Children stay in unhygienic environment
From Eric Ranee
KILLING: The pathetic condition of the Holy Home Orphanage at Jorbil, Killing, under Khanapara police station, came to light on Friday morning during an inspection conducted by the Hynniewtrep Achik National Movement (HANM), Women Wings Central Body, under the leadership of its president Betty Jyrwa, accompanied by general secretary B Sungoh and other members.
What was unanswered was who was to blame for the condition of the orphanage. While Jarin, the founder of the orphanage, cannot do much amidst her meager resources, the Meghalaya Government has not come forward with funds in running the orphanage and NGOs have done precious little to lend a helping hand. As a result, the endeavour to give a home to the homeless children has remained a pipedream.
A team of officials from the District Child Protection Office (DCPO) Ri Bhoi District Unit led by DCPO E. Kharpuri, Protection Officer, Institutional R.S Dkhar and CWC Social Welfare B Basawiamoit also accompanied the HANM women’s wing leaders.
A visit to the orphanage revealed an unhygienic condition in which beds were in disarray, the food provided to children of the home was unbalanced diet lacking in nutritional value and improper diet. It was painful to see that a pot of rice was under attack of house flies. The children did not have access to proper medical facilities and most of them appeared in a poor shape.
The Orphanage which was set up by Holy Jarin 14 years ago housed 32 children between the age group of 8 to 14 years and eight of them are girls. Talking to The Shillong Times after the inspection, Kharpuri said that the Orphanage Home had not been registered under the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act 2000 as per Supreme Court ruling.
She also said that they found that the orphanage was not advisable for children to stay as it was unhygienic and they would submit a report on their finding very soon to their higher up and also recommended closure of the orphanage home and for immediate relocation of the children to a suitable orphanage.
HANM Women Wing President Betty Jyrwa lambasted Jarin for the poor upbringing of the children and also expressed concern over the state of affairs in the home. She demanded that the government should immediately close the orphanage home and also initiate legal action against Jarin for ill treating the children.
Defending her stand, an emotional Jarin said that she was running this orphanage on her own without any financial assistance from the government. “I am doing whatever possible within my ambit to provide the best to the children but I have my own limitations,” she said.
She also said that she was an orphan herself thus she decided to set up a home for orphans who most of the time were abandoned in the street.