311 tsunami orphans live happily with guardians
BY NADIRA Gunatilleke
ASSISTANT Probation and Child Care Commissioner E. K. Ariyadasa said
311 children orphaned by the tsunami now living happily and safely with
their guardians selected and appointed through court orders.
From the 311 children, 226 are from the North and East and the
balance are from the South, he added.
Ariyadasa said the Probation and Child Care Services Department is in
the process of obtaining more court orders for the rest of the orphans
through Provincial Probation and Child Care Officers.
The total number of tsunami orphans are around 1074, and this figure
keeps changing slightly due to the re-appearance of a parent or both
parents, he said.
'Hope for Children', an NGO has agreed to pay at the rate of Rs.500
for each guardian on the recommendation of probation officers and child
rights protection officers (CROPs). In addition to this, educational
instruments are also being provided on the recommendation of probation
officers and child rights protection officers (CRPOs).
Probation officers are expected to visit these children once a month
and supervise their health, education and protection. This supervision
will be done initially for three years and the monitoring period will be
extended according to requirements, he added.
Explaining the program's success, Ariyadasa said the children live
happily and safely because the program enables them to live in their
familiar environment with relations.
Not separating orphans from their familiar environment and relations
has helped to ensure their psychological safety which is one of the
vital requirement, he said. |