Child helplines get flooded as kids lose parents due to Covid

Bengaluru: As the Covid deaths are increasing every day, child helplines and NGOs are flooded with calls from relatives of those kids who have either been orphaned or lost a parent. The authorities are taking measures to take care of such children.

Antony Sebastian, chairperson, Karnataka State Protection of Child Rights, said, “On Saturday, we heard of a twelve-year-old boy from Summanahalli who lost both parents to the virus. On Sunday, another such case was flagged off from Whitefield. We’re discussing how to handle these cases. Many childcare institutions had closed on the government’s directions during the pandemic to send children back to their parents if the conditions are conducive. We’re checking if they can reopen and accommodate these children.”

Nagasimha G Rao, director, Child Rights Trust said that he had received two such similar calls. One was from a mother who had lost her husband, a daily bread winery of the household. The other one was from a grandmother whose granddaughter had lost both her parents. “She said she was in no position to look after the girl.” In some cases, relatives find it difficult to reach out to children because of the lockdown or children themselves testing positive. He added, “The kids are at a loss to understand what’s happening and need counselling.”

Whitefield Rising, the citizens’ movement had to go through two similar situations as these on Saturday and Sunday. ” On Saturday, we heard of a father who had passed away, the mother was admitted to a hospital and their child was suspected positive. A neighbour finally took her in. On Sunday, we were told of an older, autistic child whose parents are in hospital. We issued an advisory that parents must plan for who will take care of their kids if they fall ill. Note down all information that the caretaker needs to know about the child- allergies, medications, likes and dislikes. Have a conversation with children about the plans”, a member said.

There are also requests from social media for breast milk for lactating mothers following the death of biological mothers. The women and child welfare department said while one helpline number (1098) is working 24/7, it will get the other helpline (14499 which is presently open from 8 am to 8 pm) to operate around the clock.

Anuradha KN, director, women and child welfare department said, “We’ll ask all district children protection centres to notify one centre to immediately shelter children who have lost one or both parents.”

The government has also created a new team for child protection. Uma Mahadevan, principal secretary, panchayat raj, who coordinates with civil society on needs during the pandemic, said, “In our WhatsApp groups of NGOs and civil societies, we started noticing cases where children needed help- some alone at home as parents were hospitalised or those who lost a parent, among others. We started a group on Whatsapp exclusively for child protection and has experts, including specialist in mental health and child welfare and officials from the government and Unicef.”