Mother Zaputuo-u

Her last wish of an Orphanage Day should be fulfilled

With the passing away of Mrs. Zaputuo-u Angami aged 89 years, in the early hours of March 24, 2011, a legend among the Nagas is no more. Fondly referred to as ‘Mother’, Mrs Zaputuo-u carried the burden of the orphans almost single handedly with love and care. The Kohima Orphanage and Destitute Home along NH-39 as you enter Kohima is a place revered for its selfless work. ‘Mother’ was the one who build it up. According to a short bio-data made available Mrs Zaputuo-u was born at Dihoma village on September 27th 1922. “Having committed her life to Social service, she came to a realization that her calling was to take care of orphans and destitute children. With this commitment, she set up the Kohima Orphanage and Destitute Home in the year 1973, with one child. In the 38 years of running this home, she has been instrumental in giving a new lease of life, a home, education, new hope and new visions to many children who had been abandoned. Presently, there are 77 children in the home. She has received numerous awards for her outstanding services to humanity from various government and social agencies”.
Indeed, the task of looking after orphans is a noble thing to do. It requires selflessness. In today’s age of materialism and individualism where we are more concerned with the supreme well being of ourselves, our family, our village and our tribe etc., we need to really appreciate kind human beings like Mrs Zaputuo-u who gave up everything dear to her for the larger cause of humanity. Words alone will not be enough to pay our tribute to such a person who worked tirelessly for the downtrodden. ‘Mother’ is no more but her noble work must continue because that is what she would have wanted—to continue loving and caring for the orphaned children and to give them a place to call home. Those who are more fortunate should not hesitate to contribute to the Kohima Orphanage and Destitute Home or any other orphanages in other parts of the State. Donations and your generosity will go a long way to help each child build a life of their own that otherwise may never get a chance.  Every child deserves a chance in life.
The State government can also do much more to assist such welfare activities. According to studies conducted State infrastructure and services for children are poor both in terms of number and quality and the infrastructure is crumbling thanks to skewed budgetary allocations of funds for child rights. Some States have specific schemes for Welfare of Orphan and Destitute Children. Since we now have a Ministry/Department of Women and Child Development, some amount of budgetary allocation can be given to those orphanages which are performing well.  Let us not abandon the legacy of our Mother Zaputuo-u. Hers was among the few stories of hope and positive impact coming out from Nagaland. It is something that Nagas are proud of and we must continue writing this story of love, compassion and hope.  According to people close to Mother Zaputuo-u, her last wish had been that April16th should be observed as ‘Orphanage Day’. The Nagaland government should seriously consider having such a day. This will go a long way towards safeguarding and institutionalizing the rights and well being of our orphaned children.