It was not easy for Mary Anitha to hand over Justin* to his parents after taking care of him for a month. She could not hold back her tears when Justin was taken away on Wednesday.
Mary, who ran an NGO Centre for Empowerment and Enrichment, was taking care of six-month-old Justin after his parents, who were working in Haryana, tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Justin, however, had tested negative. The Ernakulam District Child Welfare Committee was looking for temporary foster care for Elvin as he had some minor health issues.
On Thursday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took to Facebook to thank Mary Anitha.
"The whole world is fighting this pandemic. Our mission is to save everyone from this disease. For that we should be united. To achieve that we have the weapons- humanism and love towards our fellow beings.The best example of this love has been shown to us by Mary Anitha and her family. She took care of the six-month-old baby for a month when his parents went into quarantine. The stories of such selfless, loving and sacrificial acts will be a hope for us at this time. Heartily thanking her and the family," CM wrote.
Mary and Justin stayed in quarantine in an empty apartment. Mary’s family lives in another apartment in the same complex.
Megha*,Justin's mother, told the media that she is grateful to Mary and she was a godsend.
Earlier speaking to TNM, Mary had said that the baby was initially inseparable from his mother, but later got familiar with her.
"Initially, he seemed inseparable from his mother. But later he giggled when he saw me. We spent our time playing with toys and video calling his parents. I also got my husband and children to come on video call and play with him. He lets me bathe him and sing lullabies to make him sleep without any fuss,” she had said.
*Names changed