Fourteen-year-old Nagina Bhat loves Sundays. It’s because she gets to spend the whole day with `Papaji’. And even though she must share his attention with a 100-odd others, she still longs all week for that day. Nagina’s chatter comes to an abrupt halt and her cherubic face clouds as she tells you that her father is no more. Though her mother and two sisters are living in a Kupwara village, she will not see them till Id.
Growing up in an orphanage for the past seven years, Papaji or Zahoor Ahmad Tak, patron of the J&K Yateem Trust — who runs the Gulshan Banat hostel in Srinagar for girls — is Nagina’s hope in a very harsh world.
Like Nagina, 15-year-old Rifaat Ara was sent to the government-run Markazi Talafi Maastoorat or Bal Ashram in Srinagar when her father died. Surrounded by peeling walls and a rickety roof, Rifaat dreams of being an air-hostess.
Militancy, poverty and political uncertainty have left children like Nagina and Rifaat in orphanages despite having one parent alive. A Save the Children report pegs the number of children in Kashmir living in orphanages despite a living parent to an astounding 100,000.
Orphanages have mushroomed over the years in the Valley, turning into big business. Well-meaning donors — unaware or disinterested in how the money is spent — dole out charity to these institutions and this has led to a dramatic increase in the number of orphanages and the active recruitment of children to fill these homes.
It is estimated that about 3,000-5,000 NGOs (that run orphanages) are registered. “Of these, only about 25-30 are genuine,” Mufti Riyaz, Save the Children’s advocacy officer in Srinagar, says.
Tak, who has been running the Yateem Trust for three decades adds, “It is a growing cause for concern that there are so many fake NGOs. We have to work hard to create awareness about our work, for donations.” His NGO has an annual turnover of Rs 6.5 crore that has been growing by 15%-20% every year. Another major orphanage — Yateem Foundation — says its donations for 2008 came to Rs 2.5 crore.
This trend has meant that thousands of children are unnecessarily at risk of the dangers of living in institutions, including rape, exploitation, trafficking, beatings, torture and psychological harm. Children are also likely to experience the trauma of being separated from parents who, with the right support, could look after them at home, the report says. This is not an isolated case, there are an estimated 8 million children in orphanges worldwide under similar circumstances.
Shaifa Begum — a resident of Kripalpora Seri village in Pattan — had sent her two sons to an orphanage after her husband died. “My heart is in my children. I felt a deep hurt sending them away but I told myself it was for their good,” she says. Nine-year-old Javed and 6-year-old Saleem live with her now after the local child protection committee intervened and is offering them monetary support to educate them while they stay at home. “I will beg but I want them to study so that they can be independent,” she says relieved that her children are back with her.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Shanta Sinha, who visited the state last week, said there was need to strengthen community based protection for children. “The first response of the government was to create safe zones for children which has been done. We feel that now these orphanages should be made more inclusive,” Sinha said.
