The trend of “dumping” mentally handicapped kids in welfare homes has seen a sharp spike in recent times. Says Sister Teresa of Nepal Nazareth Society, the mother organisation of the Nava Jyoti Centre (NJC) — a welfare home run for mentally disabled children — an average of 20 parents visit the centre every month to get their children enrolled with it. But the centre, desperately short on essential resources, has no option but to turn back most to the parents’ disappointment. Mental disability is incurable. Nevertheless, people with mental handicap, who comprise three per cent of the population, can be trained in simple life skills like handicraft and candle-making to sustain their livelihood.

Most parents consider the presence of disabled kids at home burdensome and also dangerous. No doubt, it is a joint responsibility of both the state and its citizens to look after the sick and the disabled. The greater onus to take care of the mentally handicapped kids, though, lies with the families concerned. Yes, opening more foster homes is certainly an option. But that might send a wrong message and more and more parents might be encouraged to part company with their mentally disabled children. Hence new initiatives, from the government, the NGOs or the INGOs working in the field, should be aimed at removing the social stigma attached to bringing up disabled kids and instilling a sense in the parents that these children can actually grow up to be productive citizens if given proper care and training.