*September 27th, 2010* * * *CHENNAI:* It was a happy reunion. A 17-year-old mentally challenged boy, who was brought to Chennai from Uttar Pradesh to work in a candy making unit in 2007 but thrown out on the streets by his employers, was handed over to his parents on Saturday.
The reunion might not have come about but for the efforts of the officials of the shelter home that took care of the boy and a merchant, who took personal interest in looking for the parents. He finally tracked them down in an obscure village called Panethi in Aligarh district. The parents, Pappu, a tailor, and Shiela Devi, had sent their son Rahul, then aged 14, with Chaman Baluka, Gulfam and Mehdi in January 2007 to work for them. But the employers threw him out and he was found wandering on the streets by the Ashok Nagar police, who informed the Indian Council of Child Welfare. He was first sent to Sri Arunodayam, a child shelter home, on March 26, 2007 and two years later shifted to Anbagam, a home for mentally challenged and destitute boys in Thirunilai village. “When he came to us, we found that he suffered from partial mental retardation and speech disability,” Mohammad Rafi, managing trustee of Anbagam, told Express. In August this year, when Rafi met Chaman Ahmed, a lock merchant from Aligarh, by chance he called him to speak to the boy.Ahmed was able to understand the local dialect that Rahul spoke. On his return to Aligarh, he started scouting for Rahul’s parents. On learning about their son in a home, Pappu (35) and Shiela Devi rushed to Chennai. “We sent our son to work, but he was ill-treated,” Pappu told Express. <goog_1318322463> http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/Boy-rejoins-family-after-three-years-on-streets/210014.html -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
