Orphans Receiving Financial Aid

In India, the homeless rate for children is much higher than in other countries. The Kerala Social Security Mission has offered to provide financial aid to children without parents and help them gain an education. The program is called Aid to Children Without Parents (ACWP). The program will help those kids who have lost both parents and are living with relatives or in orphanages. The program is in response to recent developments in the homeless population for kids, and the idea is to prevent these children from continuing the cycle or leading a life in crime. Education can help prevent this, and that’s why the program will provide funds necessary for schooling the children.

"The aid will mean a lot to these children. It is not just about the amount but the feeling that the government cares for them that is important," said R Ashok, the regional director for KSSM. He also stated that it would improve the social welfare department monitor of orphans. Earlier in the year, a KSSM meeting supported by Unicef brought certain issues that related to the fixing of minimum standards for car institutions for children in India. The government began to seriously survey its regulations and functions of orphanages at the state level.

Many officials from health, social welfare, planning and Childline and NGOs participated in the meeting, which unanimously voted to do away with the usage of the words "orphanage" and "orphan" in its phrasing. However, that is who the program directly plans to assist with its new education program.

Several NGOs talked about ways that children were being exploited in the orphanages and stressed that institutions also needed more trained associates. The new draft of the Juvenile Justice Act will make orphanages register themselves, which will allow for closer regulation. It also has provisions for child protection.

The new program plans to help with the psychological, social, recreational and most of all, educational activities of orphans in India. It will help address the problems at the infrastructure level that pertain to the facility and child care. There will also be counseling and special training for needy children. Financial aid programs will benefit children in multiple ways and allow them to lead a much smarter lifestyle than previous homeless children. However, the plans for the new policies and financial aid have not yet officially been approved. The resolutions will have to go before stakeholders and submitted to the social welfare department for a final policy decision.