Displaced kids find succour in Anganwadi centres

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 30 : The Social Welfare Department has stated that displaced children taking refuge in relief camps across Manipur are linked to 289 Anganwadi centres, where they receive all the benefits provided by the Government.
To confirm  this, The Sangai Express visited various relief camps to assess the support provided to displaced children and found that the Social Welfare Department has been providing assistance to the children under different schemes.
Ningthoujam Samananda, convenor of Akampat Ideal Girls College, told this paper that the majority of displaced children at the relief camps are connected to nearby Anganwadi centres, where they receive assistance from Anganwadi workers and helpers regularly.
He also mentioned that Social Welfare officials visited the relief camp, identified children eligible for assistance, and linked them to Anganwadi centres.
A woman residing at the Moirang College relief camp said that her five-year-old son receives supplementary nutrition and other assistance from the Government.
In this regard, Social Welfare Director Anna Arambam said that the department has been providing assistance to 5,985 displaced children aged 6 months to 6 years, 2,784 adolescent girls, 312 pregnant women, and 818 lactating mothers under the Integrated Nutrition Programme and other Government schemes.
She continued that the department has been providing pre-school education, hot cooked meals, supplementary nutrition, and iron and folic acid tablets to displaced children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
Additionally, the department conducts health check-ups, immunizations, and other institutional support for them, Anna added.
She went on to state that the Government provides maternity benefits to pregnant women under the Ministry of Women and Child Development's Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) scheme.
She also mentioned that the Government provides monetary assistance of Rs 5,000 (in two instalments) to women delivering their first child, and Rs 6,000 in one instalment if the second child is a girl.
Anna stated that the Government employs 429 Anganwadi workers and 272 Anganwadi helpers to assist children in the relief camps set up across Manipur.
She continued that the Government has also been housing lactating mothers and pregnant women at Shakti Sadan Homes since May 8, 2023, and has so far provided benefits including health check ups and vaccinations to 136 displaced women.
Currently, 12 displaced women and children are residing at Shakti Sadan Homes, she said.
Anna maintained that the Government has also conducted around 615 group counselling sessions in various relief camps.
She further stated that a State-level consultative meeting was recently held, involving the Manipur Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MCPCR), the Departments of Education, Health and Family Welfare, Information and Public Relations, Youth Affairs and Sports, the Police, the Child Welfare Committee, and the All Manipur Football Association and the meeting resolved to enhance coordination among these departments to help the children.
Anna stated that initially 1,207 displaced senior citizens were enrolled under the Manipur Old Age Pension Scheme and their pension payments have been distributed for up to August 2024.
Work is underway to release the pending payments, she said.
Additionally, 184 displaced senior citizens were identified later and enrolled under the Manipur Old Age Pension Scheme, and their pensions for September 2024 to February 2025 have been paid, she said.