Cuttack: Punya, a physically challenged newborn who was abandoned by her parents in Cuttack two years back and rehabilitated at Bashundhara Child Care Center was duly handed over to her adoptive parents on Tuesday.
US-based couple – Abi Camili Hesley and Alan Hesley – were entrusted with the responsibility of Punya at the office of Cuttack Collector Bhabani Shankar Chayani after completing the adoption formalities.
While her passport is ready, the process for Punya’s VISA is underway. She will be leaving for the US with her adoptive parents on June 19. The staff of Bashundhara got emotional as Punya was a part of their family for the last two years.
The girl child was found outside Bashundhara Child Care Center in Cuttack on May 8, 2020. Someone had left her on a cradle outside the ashram, probably because she was afflicted with polio. On spotting the abandoned child, the ashram personnel rushed her to Sishu Bhavan where she underwent treatment and recovered to a large extent through physiotherapy.
She was named Punya, the blessed, because the newborn fought with death and disability and survived healthily. While she got a new identity at Basundhara, the charming little girl was unable to get a home. Mostly, because of polio afflicted conditions.
However, recently, the Hesley couple from the US expressed deep interest in adopting her.
