Novel parenting

As part of a practise that has been continuing for the past 30 years now,SOFOSH has been entrusting children as young as a few days old and as old as three years,to the care of foster parents in the Seventh Day Adventist Church campus. “We’ve been doing this for a long time now,with the aim of bringing up children in a family atmosphere. It makes a lot of difference if a child is raised in a special care centre and if he or she’s raised along with a family,” informs Deepika Maharajsingh,executive committee member,SOFOSH.

“We get children as young as some hours and as old as three to four years here. There are many reasons why they are abandoned – premature birth,low birth weight,separation from birth family and so on. Yet,when they go away from their foster families,they are invariably happier and better than when they come in,” says Sangeeta Pawar,adoption co-ordinator,SOFOSH.

For foster parents,though bringing up and caring for children is a wonderful opportunity,it’s when they are given away for adoption that it’s most painful. “Recently,a little girl we had cared for,for three years,was taken away by her adoptive parents. Although I was happy that she was getting a new home and a better chance at life than she would ever have got with us,the parting was the most painful day in my life till now,” says Munni Tamboli,who has till date raised three such children.

Another such family is that of Jyoti Khandagle,who says earlier it was her mother-in-law who used to take care of SOFOSH children. “Of late,I have taken on the responsibility of raising these children and each time a child goes away for adoption,only I know how difficult it is for me to get on with life,” she says.

Shobha M,another foster mother,presently has under her care two-year-old Siya. “I have two children of my own,yet for me,every SOFOSH child is as dear as my own. But,I find it very difficult to reconcile to their absence once they go away to their adopted families,” says Shobha,who has also won the Best Foster Mother Award last year.

As the cherubic Sohail,Siya,Riya and Devashri play under a canopy of shady trees and throw bright red gulmohar pods at each other,they appear to be safe in the knowledge that until they find permanent homes with adoptive parents,the selfless devotion and love of their foster families will sustain them for all time to come…