State begins survey to identify orphan children

Bhubaneswar: To safeguard child rights and welfare, the state has launched the Orphan Survey 2025. Anganwadi workers will conduct door-to-door visits to identify orphaned children and gather detailed information using a standardised form. The survey focuses on children who have lost both parents, those living with a single parent—either a mother or a father—who is over 40 per cent disabled or chronically ill and unable to earn a livelihood. It will cover children and adolescents born on or before June 1, 2025, and below 18 years of age. The information collected will help ensure proper care, protection, and future planning for the identified children based on their needs. The campaign, which began July 11, will continue until July 21. As per the state government’s ‘Yashoda Scheme’ guidelines, such surveys are to be conducted every four years across Odisha.

Accordingly, the Women and Child Development department has issued Orphan Survey Guidelines to all districts. A standardised form has been developed at the state level. Master trainers were trained at the district level, who then trained field-level trainers. These trainers, in turn, oriented Anganwadi workers on the survey procedures. The data collected by Anganwadi workers will be verified by supervisors and submitted to the District Child Protection Unit via the Child Development Project Officer. The details of each child will then be uploaded to the ‘Aamari Sishu’ (Our Children) portal. The Odisha State Child Protection Society will compile and analyse the data to prepare a comprehensive report.

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