Kochi: The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare (KSCCW) will set up its third adoption centre at Kaloor in the first week of June thereby, opening doors for rescue of infants and children besides their adoption by "qualified" families in the region. At present, child adoption centres are situated in Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram. "The registration process is already on and we've submitted all the applications for starting the centre at Kaloor. We've sought license for taking care of 25 children to start with. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the centre," said council general secretary S.P. Deepak.
The centre will implement KSCCW's successful programmes including 'Ammathottil' - the cradle for receiving abandoned babies, and 'Thanal' project to assist children in distress, especially those who were subjected to child labour, child beggary and other forms of exploitation. "The toll free number '1517' will be rolled out under the Thanal project. Volunteers will be deployed by the council to rescue the children and also intervene in problems faced by them if necessary. The assistance of the Kerala Police, and the Health, Social Justice, Education and Law Departments will also be roped in for successful implementation of the project," Mr Deepak said.
The council, working under the Social Justice Department, will also open a sub-centre of its main office at Thiruvananthapuram near the centre at Kaloor. Currently, both its adoption homes at Thiruvananthapuram and Malappuram have hundreds of pending adoption applications though the centre at the capital has only around 60 children and that at Malappuram 15. "We've set up Ammathottil in all districts except Kozhikode. The children from this programme are cared for and put up for adoption through the centres," the official said.
