Children enjoying a swing ride during the housewarming ceremony of the new building built by Adeeb and Shafeena Foundation for the Child Welfare Council, in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
| Photo Credit: S. Mahinsha
Around noon on Friday, 11 girls at the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare at Thycaud here held the hands of council general secretary G.L. Arun Gopi and other special guests as they entered ‘Veedu,’ a ‘Balika Mandiram’ for them, for the first time.
The ‘grihapravesh’ (formal entry into a house) was held amidst a celebratory environment, with the many guests and council office-bearers lighting the lamp.
Dancer Madhavi Chandran who was adopted from the council in 1990 led the ‘boiling of milk’ ritual that marks house-warming occasions. As the milk came to boil, the new residents of Veedu added rice to it. Then it was time to get on the swings hung for them and have fun with friends.
At present, children left in the council’s Ammathottil electronic cradle or reaching the council through other ways have to leave for child care institutions run by the government or voluntary agencies when they turn six. With the opening of Veedu, they can continue to stay at the council under the eyes of their caregivers till they attain majority. Not only the girls’ accommodation, food and education, their skill training to ensure security and means of livelihood after they turn 18 will be ensured at Veedu.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had inaugurated Veedu on the council premises in January this year. The five-storey building with an area of 18,000 sq ft was constructed by the non-profit Adeeb and Shafeena Foundation for the council. Special dormitories for boys and girls, two counselling rooms, six classrooms, library, computer room, kitchen and dining hall, toilets and bathrooms are some of the facilities at Veedu.