THRISSUR: When Mattathur panchayat member Shaiby Siji first met Minnu Preman, the 13-year-old failed to muster up a smile. Burdened by medical expenses, the condition of the differently abled child’s family was so grim that they were struggling to make ends meet. Panchayat authorities reported their condition, following which the family was included in the state government’s extreme poverty eradication project.
Minnu was just an infant when she lost both her parents -- her partially blind mother to illness and her father to drowning. From the age of one, it was her aunt, Kurumbakutty, who took care of Minnu, whose movements are restricted. She also suffers from poor vision.
According to Siji, “11 members of the family stay in the small house. Minnu requires constant attention. Although the other members supported Minnu’s aunt, Covid broke the family’s financial stability. Even after the pandemic, they continued to live on rations. In between, her aunt suffered a heart attack, following which Minnu’s care became a concern. Moreover, the additional medical expenses had become too much for the family to bear,” said Siji.
Since Minnu’s biometrics were hard to capture, no one bothered to issue her ID cards. After the issue came up before the panchayat and district administrations, steps were taken to make amends. With the support of authorities, Minnu was provided a wheelchair along with counselling support, which had her smiling again. “All these years, we didn’t have the documents to produce for government assistance. Now, she has Aadhar and ration cards and medical documentation. I am happy, she will get the care needed even after my time,” her aunt told officials on the day Minnu was shifted to a welfare home in Koodapuzha.
“Her aunt initially had concerns about moving her to a care home. But as her health condition was deteriorating, and taking the welfare of the child into consideration, the family members were provided counselling. They agreed to shift her to a care home of their choice,” added Siji. After the second Pinarayi Vijayan-led government made extreme poverty alleviation its top priority, a total of 64,006 families have been identified in the door-to-door survey conducted by local self-governments in the state. Mattathur panchayat has flagged 63 cases, with Thrissur district identifying 4,734 case.