An adoption agency had turned him away. “Are you blind?” an official had asked him as he entered the office with his wife. He was blind and was supported by his stick. “No child wants to have a blind father,” he was told. He left. He felt that though gifted with eyes, the officials couldn’t see.

Later, encouraged by a well-known social worker, he adopted a girl from another agency. Today he and his wife are very proud parents.

“It was the best decision of my life,” said the gentleman.

As it rained hard outside, Rotary Sadan on Sunday morning heard a number of heart-warming stories.

Adoptive parent Indrajyoti Sengupta read poems he had written on adoption. Kajal and Anirban Banerjee, who have an adopted daughter, regaled the audience with their stories. These parents were only happy that they had gone ahead, despite obstacles, inhibitions and apprehensions, and taken the step of adopting a child.

The occasion was “Lifeline”, an event organised by Rotary Club of Calcutta Renaissance, with Round Table India and Ladies Circle, two Rotary wings, to promote adoption. It was an open forum that brought together couples who have adopted children, couples who are contemplating adoption, representatives of adoption agencies and government organisations.

Round Table India national president Deepak Menda spoke about how the organisation in the last 17 years had built 1,700 schools in the country and helped with the education of 5.3 million children.

Lifeline is a recent initiative, he said, to advocate adoption, the need of the hour.

Adoption is a far better option than a long period of infertility treatment that can cause inconvenience and cost a lot of money, a Rotary official said.

The event also saw the launch of the website www.adoptionlifeline.in by the organisers.

Adoption can be a beautiful experience, but as many adoptive parents and prospective ones will attest, the process is not always easy. It is complex and there are inordinate delays.

The website, which people can access shortly, is meant to be an interface between prospective adoptive parents, adoption agencies and government agencies to facilitate more adoption, beside being a network for adoptive parents.

source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta / Front Page> Calcutta> Story / by Chandrima Bhattacharya / Monday – September 22nd, 2014