Entrepreneur Jiju Jacob, construction labourer Jetheesh and Jetheesh's wife Tara are on a road trip to Kozhikode. Jiju who hails from Ernakulam had not known the couple who lives in Alappuzha. But what united this trio was the will to make sure that a 12-year-old gets a family.
Let's talk about the young girl. Hailing from Karnataka, she lived with her street performer father in a shed on government land on the outskirts of Kozhikode. The floods washed away the shed and the father and daughter ended up in a relief camp in the city. A few days ago, her father passed away after he suffered a massive cardiac arrest. When the camp was dispersed, she had no one left and nowhere to go. Her poignant story, along with her photograph had gone viral on social media.
Of the people who saw the post were Jetheesh and Tara. Married for the past 11 years, the couple who has no children expressed their will to adopt the little one. Jetheesh wrote, "My wife and I have no children. We live in a rented house for the past 11 years. We would like to adopt her." Netizens lauded the couple. Of them was Jiju.
But Jiju noticed something that others did not. Apparently, one needs to have a house of their own, in order to adopt a child. What could be the solution? Ask Jiju, who offered to donate a house to the couple. He wrote, "In case you adopt her, I'll give you a house in Ernakulam. I don't want this child to be abandoned."
All this happened in a span of a day. When we spoke to the trio, they were a couple of hours from meeting the girl. "I'm excited. In fact, I can't tell you how I feel. It feels like I'm going to meet my own child," says Jetheesh. He had previously approached Gandhi Bhavan to adopt a child. "I'm not aware of the legalities here. I hope it all goes smoothly," he adds.
Jiju was thrilled too. "I hope it all goes well and the little one gets a family. I'm just doing my bit," he says.
Amidst the praises, there were also criticism on social media platforms about how it is unethical to circulate a minor's photograph and her identity. "We never circulated her photograph anywhere," says Jiju. "Right now, we are only looking at the positive side of the situation," he says.
