Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin yesterday delivered a cheque for €30,000 to a Delhi orphanage funded by staff in his Government department.
Presenting the donation on behalf of the department's Indian Orphanage Appeal, Mr Martin said many people working in his department feel a "strong affinity" with the facility, which is dependent on voluntary donations.
After being treated to a simple musical presentation by Palna children and a tour of the facility, Mr Martin said the visit had affected him deeply. "I think after coming here today, Palna will remain a highlight of my visit to India," he said.
Palna is known as a "cradle orphanage" because it allows parents or others to leave unwanted children at its gate without fear of being discovered and being forced to identify themselves.
While the orphanage receives some of its children through official channels, many arrive through this anonymous "cradle" which is a wicker basket placed in an alcove on the street outside the orphanage. As soon as any weight is placed in the basket, staff are alerted by an alarm and can then use a small door behind the alcove to retrieve any baby placed inside.
At any one time, the orphanage is home to up to 130 children, ranging from newborns to those in their early teens. The facility says it has never refused a child that has come its way, regardless of health problems or other disabilities that require specialised care. About half of all children passing through are eventually adopted, with one Palna child adopted by a Dublin couple last year.
Unlike many other orphanages in India, Palna charges only a nominal fee for adoptions, and generally offers children to Indian rather than foreign families.
Palna came under the wing of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in 2000 after the then minister, Mary Harney, visited as part of an official trip to India. So moved were her delegation that they started to raise funds on their return, with about 100 staff in the department now contributing on a monthly basis to raise about €12,000 per year.
This is then supplemented by the fund-raising efforts of Bernie Purcell, a Dublin counsellor who became involved with Palna after reading about Ms Harney's 2000 visit in The Irish Times.
The Indian Orphanage Appeal has raised about €317,000 over the past six years and expects to provide a further €100,000 per year to Palna over the coming two or three years.
So far, the appeal has paid for a crisis medical unit at the orphanage and a toddler's playground named Tír na nÓg.