"… The child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality, should grow up in a family environment, in an atmosphere of happiness, love and understanding.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Preamble
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OUR BEGINNINGS Vathsalya Charitable Trust (VCT), a non-profit, non-government organization, started by a team of dedicated people, was registered on June 28, 1988, under the Indian Trusts' Act of 1882, with the mission of finding families for homeless children within the country and abroad.
In the past 17 years, in our mission of adoption we have been able to place abandoned and relinquished children in loving homes. In this process, in Vathsalya's team is included, not just the child care staff at the Centre, but also doctors, nurses, health care workers, child development workers and foster parents.
We, at Vathsalya, believe that true sustainable development can be achieved only by moving out into the community and not restricting our services within the organisation's premises. In this direction, we have started various programmes. Among them is the Family Foster Care, which not only helps children to experience love and care but helps families too. Through our community based rehabilitation programme, we reach out to parents struggling to cope with the difficulties of life and provide educational sponsorship for children.
PHILOSOPHY OF WORK
The Board of Trustees is committed morally to the efficient functioning of the Trust and also to improve its efficiency on a continual basis. The Board has approved the vision and mission statement of the Trust as given below:
Vision
Vatsalya Charitable Trust works on the basic principle "Do only what is best for the child". We wish to be recognized by society as a honest team deeply committed to the welfare of the child, unborn or born.
We define the terms as under :
Honest : Ethical practices and honesty in our dealings with the welfare of the child, statutory bodies, parents and the society by reliance on the truth only.
Deeply committed: Commitment at all levels of the team to the welfare of the child and not being influenced by any other factor.
Mission
"Vathsalya is committed in finding families for homeless children, as every child deserves a permanent loving family and an own home".
The vision and mission of the Trust are achieved by deciding and focusing on specific missions and objectives during the Board meetings. The objectives, which are achieved, are updated with fresh objectives.
The guidelines for functioning of the Trust are laid down in a Working Manual, which is updated as and when required.
OBJECTIVES OF THE TRUST
The objectives of the trust are divided into primary and secondary objectives
Primary Objectives
» To receive abandoned and relinquished
children and place them with families in adoption.
» To establish and
provide a variety of child care service such as:
» Emergency Care
Programme - to support children in crisis situation until they can
be permanently returned to their biological families.
» Child Care
Centres - to take care of abandoned and homeless children until permanent
families can be found for them.
» Educational Support Programmes -
to provide learning opportunities for the children who would otherwise
be forced to work to support their families.
» Programmes for children
with Special needs - to give loving long term care in cottage homes,
which are designed and equipped for severely handicapped children.
» To arrange foster homes for children so that they can experience
love and care on an individual basis until a permanent family is found
» To make every effort to return the child to the care of responsible biological parents if any.
Secondary Objectives
» To actively develop foster care families.
» To train all foster parents in child care, nutrition and first aid so that they are equipped to meet a child’s social, physical and emotional needs.
» To promote community based rehabilitation programmes without distinction of caste, creed or community.
» To provide counseling services both for birth parents as well as adoptive parents.
» To provide opportunities for students of social work, health services and related fields to gain practical experiences through field placement in the various activities of the Trust.
» To hold and conduct classes, lectures, conferences, seminars in the field of family welfare, health, nutrition, hygiene and other subjects as and when thought fit.
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