Children with disabilities and special needs seldom find families in India who adopt them. Within India, only 47 such children were adopted in 2017-18. It a very small number for such a big country, where we have around 25,000 parents waiting for more than 2 years to adopt a child under 2 years of age. Even children with correctable conditions are often ignored in the system.

Kalpana Jayashanker and her husband had adopted their daughter when she was 3 years old. Soon after adopting her, they realised that she was vision impaired. We spoke to Kalpana to understand how she navigated through the adoption and special needs landscape.

<div>Children with disabilities and special needs seldom find families in India who adopt them. Within India, only 47 such children were adopted in 2017-18. It a very small number for such a big country, where we have around 25,000 parents waiting for more than 2 years to adopt a child under 2 years of age. Even children with correctable conditions are often ignored in the system.<br><br>Kalpana Jayashanker and her husband had adopted their daughter when she was 3 years old. Soon after adopting her, they realised that she was vision impaired. We spoke to Kalpana to understand how she navigated through the adoption and special needs landscape.</div>

Dear Pari, India’s first narrative podcast on adoption hosted by parents Rakesh and Priya, will take the listeners through their journey of adopting their daughter while discussing pertinent issues. Parents, adoptees, government officials, anti-trafficking experts on child adoption are part of this series. This series is brought to you by Suno India, a podcast platform for issues that matter. Subscribe on https://www.sunoindia.in

Dear Pari

<p>Dear Pari, India&rsquo;s first narrative podcast on adoption hosted by parents Rakesh and Priya, will take the listeners through their journey of adopting their daughter while discussing pertinent issues. Parents, adoptees, government officials, anti-trafficking experts on child adoption are part of this series. This series is brought to you by Suno India, a podcast platform for issues that matter. Subscribe on https://www.sunoindia.in</p>

Children in waiting

As part of the international adoption awareness month, we spoke with Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) CEO Deepak Kumar to pose him some frequently asked questions by PAPs and Parents who have adopted. Some of these questions have been sourced from PAPs themselves.  We hope this interview answers some if not all questions that you may have.

<div>As part of the international adoption awareness month, we spoke with Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) CEO Deepak Kumar to pose him some frequently asked questions by PAPs and Parents who have adopted. Some of these questions have been sourced from PAPs themselves.  We hope this interview answers some if not all questions that you may have.</div><div><br></div>

International Adoption Awareness Month special - CARA CEO answers your questions

In this episode, you will hear from Koushumi Chakraborti, a 40-year-old single parent who adopted Shanaya, an intersex child, which means they was born with both reproductive organs and are often mistaken to be "transgender" or "third sex". Activists say that at least 10,000 babies are born intersex in India every year, and awareness is low on the clear distinction between ‘intersex’ and ‘transgender’. This problem is further compounded with the society's pressure to assign a sex to the child at birth and often parents are offered surgery as the only option by doctors who term the same as "corrective procedures". This lack of awareness compounded by the stigma of giving birth to an intersex child also means that some children are abandoned out of fear. It is in this context, this story of Koushumi and Shanaya is important. Koushumi is from Bangalore and is a single mother who is breaking through all stereotypes. Koushumi refers to her child as "they". 

<div>In this episode, you will hear from Koushumi Chakraborti, a 40-year-old single parent who adopted Shanaya, an intersex child, which means they was born with both reproductive organs and are often mistaken to be "transgender" or "third sex". Activists say that at least 10,000 babies are born intersex in India every year, and awareness is low on the clear distinction between ‘intersex’ and ‘transgender’. This problem is further compounded with the society's pressure to assign a sex to the child at birth and often parents are offered surgery as the only option by doctors who term the same as "corrective procedures". This lack of awareness compounded by the stigma of giving birth to an intersex child also means that some children are abandoned out of fear. It is in this context, this story of Koushumi and Shanaya is important. Koushumi is from Bangalore and is a single mother who is breaking through all stereotypes. Koushumi refers to her child as "they". </div>

Hear what is it like to be a Single Parent of an Intersex Child

More than 80 percent of parents chose 0-2 years out of the fear of not bonding, missing out on the child's early days, the trauma that the child might have undergone etc. To discuss these apprehensions and to understand why disruptions often take place in older kids in India, our reporter Vaishali spoke to Radha Nagesh,  a member of Karnataka state council for child welfare and a volunteer counselor for over 20 years at Viveka center for emotional support. In her experience as a counselor, she talks about how trauma can be handled, the role of foster care and the need for support from CARA to promote the adoption of older children.

For more stories like this, you can listen on www.sunoindia.in. Also follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

<div>More than 80 percent of parents chose 0-2 years out of the fear of not bonding, missing out on the child's early days, the trauma that the child might have undergone etc. To discuss these apprehensions and to understand why disruptions often take place in older kids in India, our reporter Vaishali spoke to Radha Nagesh,  a member of Karnataka state council for child welfare and a volunteer counselor for over 20 years at Viveka center for emotional support. In her experience as a counselor, she talks about how trauma can be handled, the role of foster care and the need for support from CARA to promote the adoption of older children.<br><br><em>For more stories like this, you can listen on </em><a href="http://www.sunoindia.in/"><em><a href="http://www.sunoindia.in">www.sunoindia.in</a></em></a><em>. Also follow us on </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sunoindia.in"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://twitter.com/SunoIndia_in"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> or </em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/sunoindia.in"><em>Instagram</em></a><em>.</em>
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Children in waiting

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