American couple adopts orphan divyang girl from ashram in Odisha, gives her new lease of life

An orphaned four-year-old divyang baby girl in Cuttack got a new lease of life after an American couple adopted her on Friday.

As per reports, David Bryant and Anna Elish from the United States adopted the girl from Basundhara Childcare home in Cuttack after the completion of all the requisite formalities. Cuttack Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani handed over the baby to her foster parents.

It is worthwhile to mention here that both Anna and David already have three biological daughters and this girl from Cuttack will be the fourth addition to their family.

Speaking on the adoption, Anna said, “We love her and are too excited to get her back to America. We are grateful to everybody here who allowed us to adopt her. We feel so honoured. We will continue to teach her about India and its culture.”

“Every child is special to us, especially those who have special needs. We want to take her with us to America and give her a great life. We are just grateful for all the support we received to complete the adoption process,” said David.

“She will go from Cuttack and stay in America and will study well. Her foster parents have assured me to provide her all the medical facilities. I am sure, this baby will grow up to be a pride for Cuttack city,” said Collector, Bhabani Shankar Chayani.

The baby girl was found abandoned in Chandaka forest on February 16, 2019. At the time of her rescue, 60 percent of her face was damaged by stray dog bites. She was kept at Vasundhara Childcare Home after a two-month treatment at the SCB hospital. She was taken to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu later for plastic surgery.

Former Child Welfare Committee (CWC) official, Amiya Bhushan Biswal said, “This adoption is a lesson for all those parents who abandon their newborns only because they are girl child or born with physical deformities. I think this will encourage many more families to start adopting such orphaned children in the future.”