Delhi child rights body reaches out to kids who lost parents to Covid

Officials at DCPCR said that the commission is working with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to care for these children in terms of food, medical benefits, and other needs along with providing counselling for them

Children in Delhi who lost their entire families, or even their caregivers, to Covid have help at hand.

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights is taking steps to assist children who lost their parents to the disease or are left with no caregivers. (Photo: Twitter)

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) is now taking steps to assist children who lost their parents to the disease or are left with no caregivers in the wake of hospitalisation of either one or both of their parents.Commission chairperson, Anurag Kundu, has reached out on social media, appealing to people to call on their helpline number and report cases where children need essential supplies, have lost their parent/s, or are struggling to support themselves due to the illness.

“If you know of any child who is in need of essential supplies, has lost the parent/struggling to support because of illness Report @ +91-9311551393. Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights shall intervene in [less than] <24 hours,” Kundu tweeted Thursday.

Officials at DCPCR said that the commission is working with several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to care for these children in terms of food, medical benefits, and other needs along with providing counselling for them. For instance, NGO Protsahan, which works for children, has offered grief and trauma counselling for frontline workers and their children.

The commission got an SOS call about three children in Rohini, all aged below 10, living with their grandmother after their father died of Covid and mother was hospitalised to treat the infection. Volunteer groups provided essential supplies in response to SOS call on social media. However, they pointed out that their grandmother was “very old to feed and manage them.” Kundu instructed his team to “make sure the children have all medical help, food and make sure to daily check-in on them for at least the next 15 days. Also, see if the children can talk to their mother over the phone.”

In most cases, the commission is making efforts to keep the child with the family instead of opting for institutional care – which is often chosen as the last resort. DCPCR chairperson responds to various SOS messages on childcare on social media ensuring help reaches the children.

Sonal Kapoor, founder of Protsahan, said the most important thing is to work on closure for these children. “We aren’t taught how to deal with emotions involving grief, trauma, and death. A lot of adults, including caregivers and NGOs, are also in denial and children too struggle to process these emotions. The challenge is to establish a routine in the child’s life. While government agencies can put children in shelter homes and provide essentials, focus should also be on psycho-social needs on grief and trauma healing,” she said.

Retired IPS officer Amod Kanth, founder of NGO Prayas, said, “We have such children in our shelter homes and have been providing them with all modes of assistance. We are also offering space to those children who may not have isolation facilities at their homes and need space. Anyone can get in touch with us through the child helpline number 1098.”