Special needs child from Uttar Pradesh re-united with family after 5 years

Five years after he had gone missing from his home in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, a 13-year-old autistic child was reunited with his family at a care home run by Destination, an NGO in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Staffs of Destination, an NGO working for persons with mental health issues since 2005, witnessed heartwarming moments when the mother of little Shom, Piya Soni hugged him with tears of joy in her eyes and laughed at his activities.

"It was really an emotional moment for all of us," said Rupa Hazarika, founder of Destination. "We not only took care of him for such a long time but also continued our efforts to trace his family," Hazarika, now a member of Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said.

Shom, a child with autism, a mental health condition, was playing near an auto-rickshaw stand close to his home at Sadabad in Uttar Pradesh. He was five-year-old then. "Apparently, the little child got into one of the auto rickshaws and the rickshaw driver dropped him off in the railway station. Unknowingly, Shom got up into one of the trains and travelled to as far as Goalpara in Assam, where he was found and eventually sent to Destination by the Child Welfare Committee, Goalpara," said Hazarika.

Chumki Bora, Superintendent of the Late Rishi Hazarika Memorial Home of Special Children run by Destination, Bikram Singh, secretary of Destination and Rupa Hazarika succeeded in tracing Shom's family with the help of Kamlesh Yadav, chairperson of CWC, Prayagraj.

"During the past five years, Destination helped in the all round development of the child. It was a difficult task as Shom is a special child with autism associated with severe epilepsy. It was quite a challenge from getting over the language barrier as he belonged from UP to providing him special education at our rehabilitation centres. After constant efforts of all, he has now advanced to a stage where he could not only recognise his parents but also showcased his recently developed qualities unseen and unknown to them earlier," Hazarika said.

Destination at present has been taking care of more than 250 persons and children with various mental health conditions at their shelter home at Kahilipara in Guwahati.