| By Dale Andrews Three years ago, I received a telephone call informing me that the police had rescued three children aged five, three and six weeks old. They were abandoned by their mother in a shack at Timehri.The shack at Timehri from which the children were rescued.Such news was rare at that time, and although I had covered a case of a physically challenged child being tied to a bed and left alone in a shack on the West Bank of Demerara, I was not prepared for what I was about to experience.I know that many fathers abandoned their children but one would hardly expect a mother to do likewise especially when a six-week-old is involved.But while children are being abandoned every day, there are many who are willing to take them into their homes and give them a life that they might have only dreamed of.These are the foster parents and I was pleasantly surprised when, earlier last week, I met one of them who has graciously taken one of the abandoned Timehri trio, Baby Sonia, into his home and is giving her a life that many children will envy.Even her two older siblings exhibited a glow that clearly spelt out that they too are being afforded a decent life in foster care with a separate family.I was so impressed with the bond they still have, although they have been separated at such a tender age.I was told that at the insistence of the older brother who had cared for them while they were on their own, there is an arrangement for them to see each other at least four times a year.But to really get a clear picture of how they ended up where they are now, we have to go back to June 2011.I can vividly recall when I first got the report of the police discovering three children left alone for days in a shack aback of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri,cheap jerseys nfl wholesale, along the road leading to the Dakara Creek.Thanks to the caring neighbours, the police at Timehri were informed and along with officials from the Ministry of Human Services Child Protection Agency, rescued the children.Initial reports had stated that the children’s mother had left them in the care of a 66-year-old physically challenged male foster relative, while she reportedly went to purchase snacks at a shop.Seven-year-old Ronaldo and his five-year-old sister are fond of books.Days later neighbours, realising that the woman had not been seen for a while,Cheap Jerseys, moved into the shack, only to find the children living in squalor.They said that the six-year-old was doing his best to care for his two younger sisters.The two female ranks from the Timehri Police Station who responded, reacted as many mothers would, crying bitterly,Cheap Football Jerseys China, upon seeing the children.To this day the children’s mother has not returned and there are reports that she has started another family somewhere else in Guyana.One of the concerned neighbours had said that the children’s mother had been known to leave them alone for days, so at first there was no major alarm.At the time, the eldest of the children, a boy, who was five years old, would only say that neighbours had been providing them with meals, but they had to sleep alone at nights.I had taken photographs of the rescued children immediately after they were taken into the protective custody of the Child Care Protection Agency. When I saw them on Wednesday through an arrangement with the head of the CPA, Ann Greene, I was impressed by the way they had “matured”; their mannerism and language were impeccable.The older brother, Ronaldo, is now seven years old and along with his now five-year-old sister, they are in one home and attend a private school.When I asked him about his real mother and father, he was quick to point out “We don’t have no daddy!”About his mother, he said that he does not know where she is and when his little sister tried to suggest that their mother was at home, he reminded her that they were left alone at home.He told me that his mother had left the home telling them that she was going to a nearby shop.“We were sitting in the verandah whole day, waiting on her, then I see her (pointing to his five year old sister) drop to sleep and I carry her to her bed. But mommy didn’t come back at all,” he said.The young man spoke of feeding his six-week-old sister with the pot of tea that his mother had left on the stove, while he and his other sister spent hours at the neighbour in order to get something to eat.“I used to light the candle, make tea for baby Sonia…Mommy had a big pot it was full and I used to dip it (tea) out and feed her. In the night I put on pampers on her and put her in the corner and we will sleep.”Two-year-old baby Sonia has also found a caring foster home.The morning after their mother disappeared was the dawn of a new life for them.“She (five year old) started crying,Kris Jenkins College Jersey, Baby Sonia started crying.” Thinking beyond his age, Ronaldo took the older sister over to some neighbours and allowed her to play with the aim of drowning away their loneliness and hunger.But he kept his baby sister with him all the time. “I had her in my hand…we just had the tea for her,” he told me. He was reluctant to say he was hungry and only admitted it when his sister chided him.“When Baby Sonia drop to sleep, we went fishing and catch a big fish like this,” he said, opening is hands to show me the size.The neighbour cooked it for them and that kept them going for a while.He recalled when after days of being alone and malnourished, they were taken to a holding facility where they were later seen by their foster parents who eventually took them into their home. I got the distinct impression that these are the best days of their young lives so far, since their present dwelling is a far cry from the shack they were taken from.“They show us our own bedroom. We had stuff, we were playing. Our bedroom is nice, we have pictures on the wall and stuff, like Spiderman,” he said.They see their foster mother as their real mom, for every time I ask about their mother they call the foster mother’s name.Both Ronaldo and his five-year-old sister maintain that they are quite comfortable in their foster home although, he pointed out that he may want to see his mother sometime, maybe to ask her why she abandoned them.“But no I won’t go back with her; I want to stay here (with my foster parents). I like the dog, Cocoa,NFL Jerseys Outlet From China, I get to walk her on holidays,” Ronaldo said, while his bubbly little sister kept correcting him every time he slipped up.“We get macaroni and cheese,” she blurted out.Head of the Child Care Protection Agency, Miss Ann Greene had praised the police for the work they did in rescuing the children.“The baby showed signs of neglect, like diaper rash, but nothing serious…. The baby is too small to remain in an environment like that (Red Cross),” Green had informed two years ago.Soon enough, a foster home was found for Baby Sonia and I had the privilege last week of seeing her with her foster father, a banker by profession. He told me that since she has come into his family’s life, she has been a blessing to them. The foster father explained that he and his wife had one child and they were having a bit of a difficulty getting another.“We were always on the look out to see what would happen. Then by some strange luck of coincidence we saw the case (of the three abandoned children) and my wife got very interested from day one.”He said that his wife contacted the agency and they signed up for the Foster Care Programme and soon enough they have provided a home for Baby Sonia.I could not help notice how she clung to her foster father’s shirt sleeve as he carried her around the room and if I was not aware of who she is, I would have been convinced that she was his biological child.“She’s doing fine. She’s attached to both parents but a little more to me. She’s a very fun loving person and I guess that is why she would gravitate towards me,” the foster farther said. He revealed that Baby Sonia has certainly brought his family luck, since they have since had another baby to go with the older daughter they had before.“I strongly believe that that is what happened; she brought us luck. The baby is one year old now and they play well together and everything.”Even his older child has welcomed baby Sonia into the family with glee.“Actually she was very excited. It was something that she was open to. We were discussing with her for a very long time, so she took on the role well, in fact,Cheap Jerseys From China, she a great help now. She’s ten years old,” the foster father said.There are just some minor challenges with her feet which are being corrected by the use of special shoes, and a little drooling, which is attributed to later development. “We’ve had to endure quite a lot of clinic visits too,” he said.And Baby Sonia is not too different from his other two children. “I think to some extent she blends well, even though she’s different she looks kinda like us. She looks a little more like my wife while the other two looks like me,” the foster father said.“This is one that is high profile because it was publicized…Being a foster parent is a priceless type of activity…It is for one who really open up their home and their heart to take a child and provided that care for a child. If you can provide that care for a child, you just save an entire generation,” Ann Greene said.Guyana will be celebrating foster care month from November 1. |
