PRESS RELEASE A two day National Seminar is being organized on this very critical aspect of child care – positive mental health and well being for them. Let us understand the scenario: • Any child who runs away from home; lives on the streets; is an orphan; or abused and sexually molested or even awaiting adoption in an Adoption Home, is not a Happy Child. There is sorrow, grief and sadness fixed in the child’s heart and mind. • How do we address this. Just Tender Loving Care does not suffice. Like a child’s high temperature will not reduce without paracetemol or other appropriate medicine, similarly a child’s mental health and well being has to be ensured through counselling and other such strategies. Roti, kapda, makan is not the solution, though it is the BSE point for the solution. After intense lobbying, the government introduced Rule 46 after amending the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 in 2006 enacted in 2007. It states, “(2) Both milieu-based interventions that is creating an enabling environment for children and individual therapy are a must for every child and shall be provided in all institutions. (5) Individual therapy is a specialized process and each institution shall make provisions for it as a critical mental health intervention.” To create an environment of ensuring superior services for the disadvantaged child, this two day national workshop is being organized, the major outcome of which will be a Reference Handbook for all Governmental and Non Governmental organizations; making implementation of the program a easy to follow step by step system. Workshop Director: Vikram Dutt. Description in a few sentences. Vikram is a senior Rehabilitation Consultant and has over 35 years experience in the field. He is a former Editor of Indian Journal of Disability and Rehabilitation and was Secretary of the Board that established the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre. He is currently Advisor & Consultant Udayan Care and Head, Mental Head, QIC&AC. He is also President of Manovikas Charitable Society, Delhi which works with the Mentally Challenged. Participants and Resource Persons: Keynote Speaker Dr. Prof. Amita Dhanda, Registrar NALSAR Hyderabad; Chief Guests Dr. Prof. Shantha Sinha Chairperson NCPCR & Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, Ms. K. Sujatha Rao IAS, Secy Health & Family Welfare; Mrs. Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson National Trust for Mentally challenged, GOI; Mr. Ranjan Chatterjee IAS, Planning Commission; Mr. Justice Ramamoorthy (retd.); Mrs. Neidunuo Angami Padma Shree and one of the 1000 Women nominated for Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago; Dr. rauf malik and Mr. Iqbal Lone, both from Srinagar and working with orphans; Mrs. Anjana Goswami, member Child Welfare Committee, Guwahati; Gr. Capt. (retd.) R.P. Singh from Pingalwara, Amritsar; Ms. Naumita Rishi, member American Academy of Counselling and Ms. Pinky Biswas Udayan; a young accomplished lady who has walked the path from negative to positive mental health. We also have delegates from China, USA and volunteers from a few other countries. We also have students from various institutions. INVITATION Dear Friends of Children in the Media, This is an invitation to participate in changing the lives of distressed, disadvantaged, sexually abused, orphaned children and all such kids who have been dealt a cruel blow. Alongwith the Government’s Apex Body for Child Rights – National Commission for Protection of Child Rights – Udayan Care is organizing a two day National Workshop on Positive Mental Health and Wellbeing in Children in Institutional care – a rights based approach. Dates: 6th and 7th November Venue: Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road (behind Sai Baba Mandir) Timing: 9.30 am to 6 pm both days This is to request that you be kind enough to cover the workshop and facilitate a new life for such children as are in institutional care. Institutions are: Orphanages; Adoption Homes and Observation Homes (the kind word for Childrens’ Jail). Yours sincerely,