Our History
History Of The Hyderabad Children’s Aid Society
Having been established in 1950, the Society has now completed 60 years of useful and purposeful service to better the lot of neglected and destitute children, save them from being led into a life of vagrancy and bring them up as useful and self-respecting citizens of the Society. At this stage, it is proper to trace briefly the history and progress of the Society and of the different Homes established by it, from time to time.
Kutty Vellodi Children’s Home was the first Home started by the Hyderabad Children’s Aid Society in 1950, as the first Reformatory School for Boys in the erstwhile Hyderabad state. This Home worked under the able guidance and leadership of the first President of the society, late Smt. Kutty Vellodi located in a rented building in Musheerabad. After a short time, this Home was takeover by the Government of Hyderabad and was named as Junior Certified School for Boys, and is now located in Champapet.
After-care Home was started a few months later to rehabilitate the children who were punished and sentenced for Juvenile offences. Very soon, this Home was closed down as the then Government of Hyderabad had opened similar Homes for the same objective, as Junior Certified Schools.
Vejbai Bal Nivas was started with an initial of O.S.Rs.10, 000/- equivalent of I.G. Rs.8, 200/- from Shri Tokarshilalji Kapadia in October, 1954. The main object of this Home is to take care of young boys who are vagrants and who are tried and convicted for Juvenile delinquency, and to prevent them from falling into bad ways. This Home was started with a modest strength of 11 boys, and over time, the strength increased to more than 100 by 1962-63. Shri T.L.Kapadia has generously donated another sum of Rs.8, 200/- in installments over the years. At present, this Home is located in the buildings of the Sarvodaya Trust campus, Shivarampally and has a strength 58 boys.
Radha Kishan Home was inaugurated by Dr. Sarvepally Radha Krishnan the Vice-President of India on January 6, 1955 with a generous donation of Rs.16, 000/- by V.K.Dhage’s Trust. When it was started it was the only one institution of its kind in the Hyderabad State. Its main object is to receive abandoned children of the unwed and widowed mothers, babies abandoned in the hospitals and other public places like Railway Stations, Dust bins and Public Parks, bring them up as healthy babies and give them in adoption to deserving childless parents. Over the past nearly 55 years, this Home had received more than two thousand babies, brought them up as loving children, and as useful citizens of the country. Many of such abandoned children are given in adoption to childless couples. They lead happy lives. Some of them keep visiting us.
Radha Kishan Balika Bhavan was started on December 1, 1960 with the generous donation of Rs.10,000/- by Shri V.K.Dhage’s Trust, and was formally inaugurated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India on February 4, 1961.
Radha Kishan Sishu Sadan was started simultaneously along with Radha Kishan Balika Bhavan to bestow care and protection on the small children of parents who are inpatients in hospitals and are suffering from chronic and/or contagious diseased, or are serving long terms of imprisonment, or whose mothers are undergoing training in the Service Homes run by the Government and private agencies. However, since this Home did not catch the imagination of medical personnel and medico-social workers, very few children were sent to this Home, in later years. Consequently, on account of lack of adequate strength of such small children, this Home was closed ad its assets were merged with those of Radha Kishan Balika Bhavan.
Radha Kishan Bal Swasthalaya was started as a convalescent Home on October 2, 1962 with the object of providing shelter in clean and healthy surroundings and to provide nutritive food and tonics to the children who are discharged from the Government hospitals, during the period of convalescence, because that is the period during which they are susceptible to a recurrence of the disease. This is a highly laudable object, because the poor parents, whose children are discharged from the hospitals, are not in a position to afford not only nutritive food, but also medicines, during this period. With this objective this Home was started with twenty beds with an initial donation of Rs.7, 000/- from the Trustees of Shri V.K.Dhage’s Trust and a further kind donation of Rs.5, 000/- from the State Council of Child Welfare. The Home was admitting children recommended by the Superintendents of Government Hospitals. These children are allowed to stay in the Home for two months, during which time they were provided with good food, tonics, fresh air and rest in healthy surroundings to recoup their normal health. During the period when the children were staying in this Home, the Superintendents of the Hospitals who had sent the children, were visiting the Home to check up the health progress of the children. At the end of two months the children were sent back to their parents. However, during the subsequent days the Superintendents of Government Hospitals discontinued the practice of sending the children of poor persons to the Home. Consequently the Home was closed and the name of this Home was changed as Radha Kishan Home for Small Boys. All the boys in Radha Kishan Home for Small Boys attend School.
Past Presidents and Secretaries
