Mumbai: How two Homes are keeping kids safe from coronavirus

The Dongri Observation Home has kept sanitisers for the inmates’ use. Representation pic

In the second wave of COVID-19 there is some good news from two places in Mumbai. Neither the Dongri Observation Home nor the David Sassoon Industrial Home in Matunga have seen any child afflicted by COVID-19, thanks to the precautions taken. All new inmates are tested, and if found positive, they are treated and only then allowed to enter.

The kids are given a nutritious diet in both homes. Representation pic

Children in conflict with the law are housed at the Dongri Observation Home. Children who run away from home and are rescued from the street, etc. are also housed at the David Sassoon Industrial Home. The children are given healthy food, cleanliness is stressed on, and no visitor is allowed. All government guidelines are strictly followed by the administration.

The Dongri Observation Home currently has 100 children involved in various offences. These include 60 boys and 40 girls. Masks have been made compulsory for all here, be it employees or children. The Home is sanitised regularly.

Focus on diet

Dongri's Observation Home Superintendent Rahul Kanitkar said the children get up at six in the morning. They are then given a nutritious breakfast. This includes milk with turmeric. There are also eggs, poha and upma. One hour after breakfast, children have to exercise and perform yoga. In the afternoon, protein-rich food with dal, green vegetables and salad is given. In the evening, they are given a protein-rich snack in which soybean is mixed. They are also given protein-rich food for dinner. "We give them green salads twice a day. There is also non-vegetarian food twice a week. They are given hot water to drink in the morning. Besides this, we have kept sanitisers in the Home and there is a system of washing hands with soap. Every child is also told what precautions should be taken to avoid COVID-19," he said.

The home is also sanitised regularly. The capacity of the place is 250 but there are around 200 children here. Kanitkar said that they quarantine the new children for 14 days. "The day a child arrives, his test is done. If the report of the child is positive, then he/she is sent to the government hospital for treatment. Even if the test later comes negative, the child is kept in quarantine for 14 days," Kanitkar said.

Stress on tests

He added, "Three juveniles were recently brought in. But their test came positive, due to which they were admitted to a hospital. We do not allow new children to live here with the current inmates until they are negative."

In David Sassoon Industrial Home, there are a total of 119 children. They are also given a nutritious diet and there are 54 staffers to take care of them. Prema Gadge, Women Child Development officer in Mumbai, who heads the Home, told mid-day, "Children are kept under medical supervision. There are two nurses with medical staff available 24 hours a day. Visitors are not allowed due to which these children do not come in contact with outsiders. The home is sanitised every second day."