Dear Friends,
Seasons Greetings to you from Bal Asha!
Children who are found abandoned at different public places are at immediate risk. Bal Asha Trust takes shelter to rescued children on high priority.
One such late evening police officials on duty at Mumbai’s busiest railway stations noticed a little boy alone on the platform. They reached out to him and looked around but did not find any adult with the child. On inquiring at nearby food stalls, they came to know no one had ever seen the boy. They even asked the child, but he did not say a word.
They immediately took the child in their safety and took him to the hospital for a checkup. They called up Bal Asha Trust so that the child could be in the safe place to stay till the child welfare authorities could take a decision.
They named the boy Suraj, aged 3 years. Suraj accompanied with the officials came to Bal Asha. The superintendent of the home noticed that he did not have proper clothes on him and without footwear. He was scared, hungry and tired.
The first thing she did was to hold Suraj’s hand gently and told him not to be afraid, we will take good care of him and that he is safe here. She took Suraj inside the Bal Asha home. She quickly arranged for Suraj a warm water bath, fresh meal and a nice comfortable bed to sleep. A caretaker was arranged to be near his bed, so he won’t be scared in the night. Suraj feeling safe and secure had sound sleep.
Next morning when Suraj woke up. He was introduced to all the children. All the children made him feel relaxed. It was a delight to see in the next few hours, he was playing with all the other children. The team observed that he only indicates by gestures towards food or made actions of eating food. He looked malnourished and the team felt that he was deprived of food.
First day the team must take care of few important tasks. Medicals of Suraj within 24 hours of his admission. The team ensured to get his complete medical checkup. During the checkup it was found that he had scabies (contagious skin disease). The doctor advised required treatment and diet. One important question the para medicals asked the doctors, that he did not speak a word since his admission. He explains everything in actions and smiles. The doctor checked and informed that he does not seem to have a speech or hearing abnormality. He will benefit from speech therapy.
Bal Asha has a visiting speech therapist for children. Suraj’s speech therapy and sound therapy was started by the therapist. he was tested for his hearing capacities.
Today, Suraj is is a confident happy boy. He has started saying few words and actively participates in activities with other children. He is well aware of his daily routine. He is happy little boy who wants to greet everyone with a amazing smile who enters the room. The team is very happy with his progress and is looking forward to enrolling him in a school which will greatly benefit his progress.
We thank you for all you support to Bal Asha so that we can take good care of children with us.
Recently you might have received communication from GlobalGiving (GG) with regards to difficulty in sending funds to Indian banked organizations. GG is working hard to resolve the situation and soon we will have a solution. We in the meantime request you to please continue your support to our project.
Wishing you A Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year!
Thank you
ps: Name of children are changed to protect identity.