Safe care and adoption for Indian Babies

We have fantastic news! Thanks to your support we were able to open our new 50-bed adoption center on Sunday 26 November.

It’s unknown exactly how many babies are abandoned each year in India, but it is known that over 90% are girls. Babies are abandoned for many reasons by: victims of rape, unmarried mothers fearing recriminations and families unable to financially support a child or simply not wanting another girl in the family.

Our adoption center has rescued nearly 600 of these babies since 2004. Some have been dropped off at our centre by their mothers or left in the cot which sits outside our gates, others are found abandoned in public places, sadly many arrive in a fragile or premature state and require intensive care.

This means demand for the cots and medical services in our center has always been high and our space and resources were being stretched. With the opening of our new center last Sunday we now have an extra 30 cots and improved neo- and post-natal facilities which means we can provide for more infants and are able to keep a closer eye on those that require medical attention rather than having to send them to local hospitals for minor treatments. It also means we will be able to offer better support to the increasing number of babies we are seeing with special needs. The same is true of older children left in our care, especially siblings, so it's great that we also have much larger and brighter play areas for them as they await adoption.

Not only will this new center save more babies it will also help in the rehabilitation of unwed mothers, rape victims and minors. Expectant women and girls in India have little choice when it comes to unwanted pregnancies, it is our mission to provide support and more options to them whether that be through education, vocational training or remarriage options via our other 17 projects. If they chose to give up their child, they can take comfort in the knowledge that we are a government approved adoption service which finds loving families for their babies and we are there to support them every step of the way.

We are also there to ensure the smooth transition of child to adoptive parents. Our adoption ceremonies provide an opportunity for us to say goodbye to our babies and welcome the adoptive parents into our Snehalaya family. Many of our adoptive parents are so impressed by our work they keep in touch with us to support our work and report on the progress of their child which means a lot to us. Our door is always open to those children who wish to return to see where they came from.

Your support is essential in helping us to continue our work and is also eligible for #EndofYearGiving until 31 December, which means your donation will go further in helping to ensure an abandoned baby is brought into our care and found a loving family home.

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