JOWAI: The North East India Mission Association (NEIMA) Orphanage Home Sahsniang Unit submitted a memorandum to the chief minister through the fishery minister who is also in charge of PWD Building, Coming One Ymbon on Tuesday, seeking regular funding to the orphanage so as to solve various persistent problems, in the presence of local MLA, Nujorki Sungoh and Jowai MLA, Wailadmiki Shylla and the JHADC Chief, Thombor Shiwat accompanied by other MDCs and official of the Thadlaskein Block including the BDO, Ferdinand Basan during their visit to the orphanage home.
In the memo, the Chairman and Secretary of the NEIMA in Sahsniang informed that the NEIMA Orphanage Home, Sahsniang was established in the post-displaced persons camp, occured in the year 2003 at Sahsniang which was a result of the Assam-Meghalaya border dispute.
“After the event, the Pnars living at the border areas left their respective places and took refuge at the temporary camp at Sahsniang. Having witnessed the plight of the orphans who took refuge at the displacement camp, the like-minded people decided to set up an orphanage home at Sahsniang village hence, the foundation stone of the NEIMA Orphanage Home was inaugurated in Febrnuary 17, 2004 by DD Lapang, the then Chief Minister of Meghalaya,” the memo stated.
At present, there are 22 orphans (10 boys and 12 girls) who are residing in the orphanage while others have evacuated after turing 18 years old. Among these chil dren, 15 of them have completed the SSLC Examination and 2 of them have completed the HSSLC Examination.
The memo also stated that donations and contributions received from voluntary assistance of the philanthropists as well as the one-time grant-in-aid from the Social Welfare Department were insufficient to meet teh requirements of the orphanage.
“We have received separate one-time grant twice from the Social Welfare of Rs. 1.5 lakh in 2016-17 and 1.40 lakh in 2017-18, respectively, whereas the total expenditure was calculated at an approximate sum of Rs. 12.92 lakh”, the memo signed by NEIMA Chairman L Tang and its Secretary B Lyngkhoi stated.
“Since we are depending on these irregular sources of income, it is sometimes difficult to provide basic needs and facilities to the orphans as well as to pay a minimal honorarium to the staffs”, it stated.
