I read this story this morning. It’s good that the government wants to improve services and accountability of NGO services to children. So I welcome this, and I also dread this. What will be the reality of how this will happen? Ultimately, will we be certified as “good enough?” What will be the criteria. We are a model and we intend to influence government care of orphans and other children in need, including the disabled. We want to document and report, and be transparent in how this process occurs, if it actually does proceed. This is the first I have heard about it. I will report when we hear anything along the way. I will be open about the questions that are asked of us, and our replies.
Even at present, our records are open. Is our documentation perfect? Of course not. We will improve what we can. But our children are receiving good health care; good nutrition; education; rehabilitation; respect; discipline. Our official website http://www.shishursevay.org continues to update all of these and our important documents are being loaded into the site. Here are the worries I have as we enter into a revised process of licensing:
- We are under constant pressure to take more children. I have refused on the basis that we cannot take more without lowering the level of care we give. We cannot become a warehouse. We won’t.
- We do not receive funds from the government. Such a contract would require us to take more children. For those NGOs that receive funds, they often arrive 1-2 YEARS late, and cover only a bare fraction of the real costs. Proper care for children with disabilities is expensive because it is labor intensive. Otherwise they don’t survive.
- Inclusion may be a problem in the new licensing. We have been told more than once that we cannot have “normals’ with “handicapped.” The rationale from the government was that the “handicapped” are dangerous to the “normals.” This was told to us at the same time I had established a ZERO TOLERANCE of violence because children with disabilities can easily be silently abused and we had dealt with such a situation here. So maybe this will be an opportunity for educating and influencing the government about disability and inclusion.
Well, it’s a new adventure, which may or may not happen. It’s a great idea, more scrutiny, and I really do welcome it. When people walk through the entrance here, I see their faces change. It’s not what they expected. The kids are all around. Kids and teachers and office staff… all “underfoot.” My office is always a bit of a mess because if anyone doesn’t know where to put something, it ends up in my office. It’s also the reception area. It is shared space. All doors in the house have windows. Privacy can be dangerous to children and to the helpless and voiceless.
I like “common space” When I was a kid I used to spend hours drawing house plans. I studied magazines that in those days had construction plans for homes. My designs were always the same….. a common space in the middle. So I guess that makes Shishur Sevay the house of my dreams. I was a strange kid. I’m still a bit on the strange side.
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