(Doctor’s Day special)
The article is scripted on the occasion of ‘National Doctors Day’ which is the birthday of Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy (1st July 1882 to 1st July 1962). Dr Roy was a highly respected doctor, educator, freedom fighter, social worker & politician. He was Chief Minister of West Bengal for 14 Years (1948 to 1962). He received the highest civilian award “BHARATH RATNA”. He dedicated his life to people, treated thousands, and inspired millions. He was also the Physician of Mahatma Gandhi.
“They alone live who live for others” quote of Swami Vivekananda fittingly applies to Dr Manisha Bhandankar who is silently transforming the lives of orphans, abandoned & surrendered children through Swami Vivekanand Seva Pratishthan (SVSP), Belagavi. She is the champion of change in the lives of children who don’t have their parents/guardians. She has developed a dedicated team to take care of them in their formative age. Dr Manisha’s concerns, care, dedication, selflessness, and commitment to translating the lives of children need higher recognition, support, and appreciation. Dr. Manisha and her committed team of management of ‘SVSP’ are actively involved in offering quality education, and much-needed medical care, serving quality food, clothing & extending psycho-social support to the inmates of Pratishtan. “Seeing is believing” one must go & experience the kind of work being done for the children. She confidently said; our efforts have brought in confidence, and enhanced competency level, which will make the inmates thriving adults who will change the world around them in the future said, Dr Manisha. Dr. Manisha candidly spoke on various issues concerned with Orphans & how society could extend a friendly helping hand to these deprived children to bring them back to the mainstream and convert them into effective & constructive children. This is an excerpt of interview
Who is Dr (Mrs) Manisha Bhandankar?
Dr Manisha is MD (Paediatrics), professional who treats Neonatal (New-Born). She is a Professor of Paediatrics at the prestigious J N Medical College & serves as Sr. Neonatologist at KLES Dr Prabhakar Kore Hospital. She did her MBBS and MD from Govt Medical College Goa, She is awarded PhD from KAHER, MRCP (Royal College of London), and certified coach for Bio-ethics, USA and President of ‘SVSP’ since 2013. She is a national resource person for Neonatal Advanced Life Support (NALS) and for Navjaat Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (NSSK).
Can you highlight about your centre.
Dr Manisha: ‘SVSP’ was established in 1982 and is functioning in Subhashnagar, behind SP Office, Belagavi. It is one of the largest Orphanages, presently we are taking care of 65 children. Our team is engaged in serving orphans, abandoned & surrendered children. We have separate girls, and boys’ accommodations, and all the facilities such as; stay, education, medical facilities, food, clothing, books, stationaries, & all the services are provided free of cost. Around 25 dedicated staff which include, administrators, medical Officers, social workers, counsellors, teachers, nutritionists, Nurses, cooks, security, and ayas are working round the clock to take care of these children.
What is the adoption scenario in the country:
Dr Manisha: Close to 30,000+ potential parents are registered & waiting to adopt children in India. But only 3000+ legal adoptions occur every in the country. Even in Belagavi district over 100 parents are eagerly waiting to adopt children.
How many children are adopted from your centre:
Dr Manisha: Ours is the biggest adoption centre other than Bengaluru and ever since its establishment 130 children are legally adopted as per the laid down procedure. The process of adoption is long drawn, proper scrutiny through government monitored Child Welfare Committee (CWC) after a due legal documentation process, screening of family, and counselling of prospective parents & on approval of the CWC committee, only the child is adopted.
How about international adoptions:
Dr Manisha: International adoptions are rigorous, stringent, and laborious procedures that are coordinated, controlled & monitored by Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA). 13 International adoptions have been taken from our centre. Usually, Indian prospective parents prefer healthy babies. However, international prospective parents have even adopted children with special needs like children with developmental delays, partially blind, speech deficiency, learning disabilities, etc.
What is your advice to the community:
Dr Manisha: Legal adoption is the best way to have a child for childless couples which generates immense satisfaction. All those who adopted are sharing their joys, and love and have drawn happiness in their families. Just the presence of a child in the family has changed the lives of people.
How children’s activities are planned:
Dr Manisha: All the staff serving in our organization are committed to the simple core value of serving with compassion, care, share love, and affection for every child. We have a prayer session every morning & evening. After their morning calls, they are served with nutritious breakfast. All the children are admitted to private schools to get quality education at par with other children. The activities are designed in such a way that the social, emotional, and cognitive development of the child takes place. In the evening they have indoor and outdoor games, yoga and plays. On a rotation basis, they are engaged with rangoli, drawing, visits to Library, quizzes, singing, etc. They are served nutritious meals. Our initiatives are designed in such a way that they willingly participate and enjoy every activity.
How do you manage expenses?
Dr Manisha: Part of the fund is paid by the government. But, that is not sufficient to manage huge expenses. Fortunately, we have Philanthropists who support the good cause and donate generously. Almost 50-60% of expenses are met by donations that we receive from various philanthropists. The donors are so humble; even they don’t want their names to be disclosed. To say a few instances; A businessman, every year; 15 days prior to Deepavali comes with a tailor to our centre and takes a measurement of all children and a day before Deepavali, he comes with his family to distribute sweets and makes the children wear new dress and gets them in celebration mood. Another hotelier for over a decade supplied 10 litres of milk every day. Cash, groceries, books, clothing, and stationeries are donated by kind-hearted persons and are strictly used for the welfare of inmates. Corporates as a part of their CSR activity have come forward to donate solar water facilities & Bus for the benefit of children. We graciously accept donations. However, we don’t accept cooked or leftover food which could be detrimental to children’s health. We the management are thankful to all the donors for their benevolent acts.
What do you expect from society?
Dr Manisha: Orphans face difficult challenges, which include a sense of loss, instability, and possible social and emotional problems. We are providing our best attention, care, and intervention to help them overcome and develop into healthy and well-adjusted individuals. All that we need is good teachers, councillors, and social workers who can come voluntarily teach, talk to them, encourage, mix; share success stories and motivate children.
What are your future Plans:
Dr Manisha: Very soon we are launching “Prarambha” an initiative to cater to children with special needs who require professional attention. It could be speech pathology, mental retardation, delayed milestones, learning disability, needing physiotherapy, etc. We have specially designed a place to stay for parents & children to overcome their difficulties. We are thankful to KLE Physiotherapy College who are offering specialised services to needy children. Our collaborative efforts with District Health Officials, and the Child Welfare department have identified over 100 children with some form of disability, and we are prepared to offer them in-campus treatment. The infrastructure created by “Prarambha” will soon be in the services of needy children.
Dr. Manisha is a busy Neonatologist who handles the most complex newborn babies with enormous care & dedication. She is a postgraduate teacher at J N Medical College. Amidst her busy schedule, she devotes most of her time to children. Her passion to serve the neediest is worth emulating & she stands tall among the medical fraternity. She is highly motivated and puts all her efforts into shaping the future of children. She is a beacon of light and a role model, her presence in the middle of children brings hope, joy, and confidence to all inmates. Myarogya.in wishes all the best on the eve of Doctors Day and fully supports her in the crusade to transform the lives of lively children.
You can donate for a good cause to Swami Vivekanand Seva Pratishthan, Union Bank Of India, Branch – Market Yard, Belagavi. A/c No.370301010041675 IFSC Code: UBIN0537039. You can contact – Contact No-0831-2473919 (M) 9606869122 / 6360719554
