At the age of eight, she weighed what a one-year-old should when we met her, an orphan severely malnourished, who lay battered in a hospital bed, after engineering her own escape from the family who used her as domestic help. They had bought her from the man in charge of running the orphanage that had been Rajitha's only home. Seven weeks after NDTV reported on her story, Rajitha is being healed by the invisible hand of hundreds of strangers all over the world. She has gained nearly four kg. Hyderabad's Apollo Hospital came forward to treat her free of cost. (Read & watch: Rajitha at 8: Orphaned, sold, battered in Andhra)
"She is doing pretty well. She's gaining weight. Her TB is under control... but her treatment has to be continued for one year. Good nutrition should be given, and the child should be really well taken care of," says her paeditrician, Dr Sivaranjani.
Rajitha has now been discharged from hospital and shifted to Shishu Vihar, a state-run home for children. She will have to continue a dose of expensive antibiotics for a month to heal her infected and broken arm. The TB medication will necessarily have to be continued for one year. It can be fully cured. Rajitha can be with other children and need not be isolated, as the TB of the brain that she is suffering is not infectious.
"Rajitha is very sharp, has good IQ. But the severe prolonged malnutrition that she has suffered since childhood has cost her up to 10 cm in height. With good nutrition, she can make up to a large extent but what she needs is sustained, dedicated care by someone who can give her that tender loving care'', says Dr Sivaranjani.
Rajitha knows what she wants next. "I will go to school. I will take medicines. Eat and get well."
Shishu Vihar cannot keep Rajitha for long as it is meant for children under six.
If you'd like to donate money for the long-term medical care that Rajitha needs, please send cheques or demand drafts to:
Rajitha
C/O Director, Women and Child Welfare Dept,
Government of Andhra Pradesh
Yousufguda, Hyderabad
The same official will also supervise adoption queries.
