Rintaniemi Neighbourhood Children’s Home, located at Midland, Dimapur is a home dedicated to the welfare of underprivileged children. Named in honor of a Finnish well wisher, Rintaniemi, who helped built the House, the Home has taken care of about ninety (90) children till date. According to the Administrator, Rintaniemi is said to have encouraged the Home and financially assisted to build the House.

An undertaking of the International Neighbourhood Service Society, the Rintaniemi Neighbourhood Children’s Home was first established in 2003.

“The main purpose behind the establishment was to give basic education to the underprivileged children,” says Victor Thong, Administrator of International Neighbourhood Service speaking to Nagaland Tribune.

The Home initially began as a basic education centre for a duration of 6 months with hostel facilities from 2003-2006, which shut down due to lack of sponsors and support.

The Home was then reestablished in 2010 where they decided to turn it into a Children’s home to provide full care from food, education, clothing and basic needs. “We foster children from underprivileged backgrounds and send them to Government schools and private colleges for education,” noted Thong.

Currently, the Home takes care of 32 children from the age of 5-19 years (16 boys and 16 girls). “All of them come from different districts of Nagaland like Dimapur, Peren, Wokha and some other states of India like Manipur, Assam and Odisha,” informed Thong.

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The Home provides care for children from broken families(Divorced/Separated parents and neglected by new families), single parents who cannot afford basic needs and education, victims of child labour, and orphaned children.

Besides food and lodging, the Home caters to the all round nurturing of the children in the form of additional tuitions, music classes, Entertainment, indoor and outdoor games and sports etc. The Home also comprises of a library, study hall, dining hall, and entertainment room.

The recently Initiated Drive For Change- book and musical drive has also been organised to set up a fully-functional library and initiate a free music program for the children.

“Most of the children attend school of Government Middle school, Midland, Government High school, Subaru, while two attend MGM College and one of them is pursuing Nursing,” stated the Administrator.

Once the children grow up under the care of the Home, Thong says, some of them get married and starts their own family. “Some have secured good jobs and living independently, and some have moved back to their parents and continuing their further studies. Sometimes, children are reunited with their family once the families are stable and financially secure,” mentions Thong. With further support from well wishers, the Home is now able to provide College education to three students at present.

“It’s always hard to see them leave. Living with them and see them grow in our own eyes and seeing them leave for various reasons is always hard but there is so much need in the society that we have empty seats filled up immediately and the new faces always bring that joy,” remarks Thong.

Most of all, the Home is always proud to see the children grow up to be better humans and watching some of them reuniting with family is always a happy moment

At present, Rintaniemi Neighborhood Children’s Home has seven employees from cook, warden, matron, tuition teacher and caretake where they collectively take care of the children. The RNCH purely runs from the support by local donors and well-wishers.