Calls to help abused boy

SHARLENE RAMPERSAD

While he is now in safe hands after being rescued by the Children’s Authority on Thursday, a call is being made to help a teenage boy who faced months of abuse by his own family, so that when he is released from state custody, he can return home to improved conditions.

The call was made by Faith Ramcharan, a neighbour who highlighted the boy’s sad plight and contacted the authorities. She said there is need for a bed, wardrobe, clothes and learning material.

The boy, whose age is actually 16 and not 14 as stated by relatives on Thursday, was subjected to months of physical and verbal abuse by those who were supposed to care for him.

Ramcharan took to social media on Wednesday to highlight the boy’s plight as she said she made two reports to the Children’s Authority and despite two home visits, the officers did not intervene.

The boy’s living conditions took a drastic turn for the worst approximately three months ago when he was removed from the house and placed in a room on the ground floor which he shared with ducks. Speaking yesterday, Ramcharan said the child’s relatives made no objections when he was removed by the authorities at 1 pm on Thursday.

“They didn’t make any fuss or anything and he was taken to a relative who had taken care of him in the past,” Ramcharan said. “That person is very loving and caring towards him, they know his medical history, they were the ones who had registered him in a special school when they had him and by this morning they were already starting to teach him the alphabet again.”

However, the child’s new lease at life is a little bare as although he is being showered with affection at his new home, his caregivers can only afford to give him so much.

“He needs a new bed, he is sleeping in a small bed, it is comfortable but for a boy his size, he needs something a little bigger.

He also has no clothes at all. He is currently wearing someone else’s underwear as he has not one piece of clothing.

“The clothes the family gave the Children’s Authority when they were taking him away was wet and dirty, it was no good for him to wear.

He also needs a wardrobe as well and any books or learning materials that people can offer.” While the authority will continue its investigations, Ramcharan said she is grateful the boy can have a taste of happiness. Efforts to reach the authority yesterday for an update were unsuccessful.