Rupa (name changed) was only 23 months old at the time of admission to Ashray Center. She was referred by CCDT’s Childline Project along with her older sister. She was severely malnourished then. She was referred for health care and safe shelter.
Rupa along with her older sister lived in a slum community at Borivali. Three of her other older sisters were already living in a shelter home. She had a stepmother and her father worked as lemon juice vendor merely earning Rs. 3000/- in a month. However, he was involved in anti-social activities. Both girls, particularly Rupa’s needs were severely neglected. Out of hunger, Rupa would eat mud from the ground. She became very ill and had to be admitted to hospital. She was diagnosed with Severe Malnutrition and Pneumonia. To everyone’s shock the doctor could not find any family member at her bedside after four days. It was then that the doctor contacted Childline for intervention. Rupa’s health kept deteriorating making it fatal for her. With immediate effect her case was presented before Child Welfare Committee after which she was admitted at Ashray.
When Rupa came to Ashray in November 2014 she was severely malnourished and bedridden. The entire team of Ashary took it as a challenge to leave no stone unturned to restore her to good health. Under Ashray’s paediatrician’s guidance, Rupa was immediately started on antibiotics for seven days and a multivitamin syrup for six months. In consultation with the centre’s nutritionist, a specialized diet plan was prepared for her. She was given energy-dense-food such as extra ghee in dal, extra sugar in milk, as well as extra fruits, Chicken Soup, raw egg with milk, panchamrut. Other children got something to eat after every 2 hours but Rupa was frequently fed after every hour as she could only consume small quantities at a time. Rupa was also given speech therapy for two years as she was unable to talk. After completion of speech therapy, she started speaking well.
All the specialized interventions along with care and affection reaped results. Rupa has now shown tremendous improvement in her health. She has put on weight and has come out of malnutrition and has no other medical issue.