Nagaland Launches “Cradle of Hope” to Ensure Safety of Abandoned Newborns

Guwahati: “Cradle of Hope” a venture to ensure the protection of the child, especially to prevent the rapidly increasing crime of abandoning newborns, has been launched in Nagaland. The child protection venture is an initiative of the Child Protection Services, Department of Social Welfare with the sole aim of ensuring no abandoning of the newborns and also spreading the awareness of harm and risks to abandoned babies.

Advisor for Social Welfare, Noke Wangnao, launched the project at Tourist Lodge on Monday.

This unique and new concept of placing cradles in several locations is something very interesting and unheard of which is hoped to be of great help. As per the project, 90 cradles will be placed at 90 strategic locations in Dimapur and those particular sites include hospitals, police stations, public health care centres, Anganwadi centers, and child care institutions.

Chubainla Jamir, Director at Child Protection Services, Nagaland director, said that over the years, there has been a steady increase in abandoned babies found in drainages, trash bins, and jungles in Nagaland. He further added that the abandoning of babies takes place due to unplanned pregnancies, poverty, alcohol and substance abuse. Moreover, as most of such parents are unaware of the alternate ways of surrendering their child legally, they consider abandoning their child as a good option which is pretty harmful to the baby.

Addressing such people, the director says that they should from now on be aware of these new cradles. If in case, somebody is not willing or unable to take care of his/her baby, the baby can safely be left in one such cradle as this will ensure that the babies would be sent to loving homes.

For making the project more effective and cradles be useful for abandoned babies, the director said that these cradles would be linked with the district child protection unit, child welfare committee and will remain under the observation and responsibility of the village or ward level child protection. It would also have to be ensured that the babies left in such cradles get to go to the right channel instead of being mishandled.

Social Welfare director, T Merangtsungba Aier said, “The bizarre case of a number of newborn babies thrown into trash bins, jungles, drainages, flushed down toilets or buried alive are not only unfortunate but also a sin that is on the rise.” He further added that the launch of ‘Cradle of Hope’ will appear as a viable option for the mothers to abandon their babies and be assured that their baby will be safe and happy.

The launch event of the project also witnessed the release of a book entitled, “Naga Customary Practices of Child Adoption.” This book is a compilation of the adoption practices of 15 Naga tribes by the director of Prodigal’s Home, K Ela.

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